The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
That brings us to the end of our coverage of the first Maharaja T20 Trophy match of the day. The Shivamogga Lions will take on the Bengaluru Blasters in the following clash in about half an hour. Keep an eye on our tabs for our coverage of the same, and a lot more! This is Rajarshi, signing off on behalf of my friend Pragadeesh. See you later!
Krishnappa Gowtham (Mangalore Dragons Captain) - Yeah, we always believed. Even in the previous game, the belief was huge. We had the firepower and we need to trust the top order. I know they will get the job done for me, so I don't have to bat up the order. We backed ourselves and the moment we went to the dressing room, everyone was kicking themselves to get the job done. We all know what kind of player Karun is and he played some exceptional shots
Sharath BR (Man of the Match) - I hope it's just the beginning. The wicket was supporting us. It was sticky in the first innings and got better in the chase. The plan was to carry the momentum. We got a good start and carried from there. Patil went after the bowlers and he made my job easier
Match summary:
Mangaluru Dragons win by 5 wickets with 7 balls to spare
A target of 202 might have been a touch steep on paper, but the Mangaluru Dragons did a brilliant job in structuring the run-chase well! While they didn't quite race off the blocks in the first couple of overs, the duo of Rohan Patil and BR Sharath then cut loose, and how! By the end of the powerplay, the Dragons were firmly in the driver's seat, having raced to 73 for the loss of Naveen M Gneshwar.
While Patil was the more explosive of the two, BR Sharath went on to play an integral role in the run-chase going into the middle-overs. Patil, having brought up a scintillating half-century at a strike rate of 200, wasn't able to kick on, holing out to the long mid wicket boundary off Suchith. Sharath was then joined by Aneeshwar Gautam, and while the u19 World Cup winning all-rounder wasn't able to find the boundaries, he played a handy role in rotating the strike and keeping the score ticking.
The 13th over from leggie Kushal Wadhwani turned the tide towards the favour of the Dragons. Sharath took him on, blasting him for three sixes in the over. Bhandage, with his military medium pace, then tried to contain the runs, but having had negative support from his fielders, and having overstepped at crucial stages, his overs proved to be costly for his side.
Bhandage's third over saw the Dragons bring the required rate under 6. Following that, despite the wicket of Aniruddha Joshi, the Dragons were always going to get them home. It was their skipper who walked in and applied the finishing touches - Gowtham struck a boundary over cover off his first delivery, and followed it up with a quick run to mid off to seal the deal. Mangaluru Dragons ace a steep run-chase, and move to third in the points table.
Gowtham lets out a roar and punches the air in delight! The Mangaluru Dragons coast home with just over an over to spare!
18.5 Muralidhara Venkatesh to Krishnappa Gowtham, The Dragons win by 5 wickets and Gowtham roars in delight. off-pace delivery outside off, Gowtham knocks it down to mid-off and runs across to the other end.
18.4 Muralidhara Venkatesh to Krishnappa Gowtham, FOUR! Short and wide, Gowtham stays back and punches it wide of extra cover for a boundary
Krishnappa Gowtham, RHB, comes to the crease
18.3 Muralidhara Venkatesh to Aniruddha Joshi, OUT! Off-pace delivery outside off, Joshi wants to finish things in style, so he attempts to go over long-on but was early into his shot. The fielder at long-on moves to his right and pouches it safely
Aniruddha Joshi c Monish Reddy b Muralidhara Venkatesh 2 (3b, 0x4, 0x6)
18.2 Muralidhara Venkatesh to BR Sharath, squeezes the fuller delivery to backward point and gets a single