Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20: Shivamogga Lions score 36-run win over Bengaluru Blasters

Shivamogga Lions recorded their second consecutive victory with a comprehensive 36-run win over Bengaluru Blasters in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. Rohan Kadam was the architect in chief scoring 70 runs off 47 balls with ample support from Nihal Ullal (40) and Kranthi Kumar (25) combined with a solid team effort in the field that saw four Bengaluru Blasters batters being run out. Invited to bat, the Shivamogga Lions’ openers Nihal Ullal and Rohan Kadam made full use of the Power-play taking the team total to 65 runs in the first 5 overs.  Ullal was dismissed on the last ball of the fifth over by Bengaluru Blasters’ pacer T Pradeep after having scored a lightning-quick 40 runs off just 17 deliveries that included 4 fours and 3 sixes with Vidyadhar Patil being his prime victim, conceding 31 runs off his first two overs.

The Bengaluru Blasters managed to pull things back with no.3 batter Rohith Kumar (11) struggling to find his rhythm. Momentum shifted towards the Bengaluru Blasters as they kept things tight, conceding just 26 runs from overs 6-10. Pacer Lochan Appanna was brought into the attack in the eleventh over and he picked up the wicket of Kumar (11 runs off 18 balls), before being taken for 20 runs in the fourteenth over as a result of 2 sixes and a four from Rohan Kadam. At the end of 15 overs, the Shivamogga Lions were on a 137-2, with Rohan Kadam looking well set on 62 runs from 41 balls and Abhinav Manohar (31), who came in at no.4, looking to cash in on the death overs.  However, in a bid to accelerate, Rohan Kadam was caught at covers off T. Pradeep. On a similar pursuit, Manohar soon departed for 31 runs off 20 balls to pacer Kumar LR. A crucial cameo from Kranthi Kumar (25 runs off 10 balls) helped the Shivamogga Lions breach the 200-run mark, finishing at 201/5.

In reply, the Bengaluru Blasters were off to a disastrous start, losing both their openers, skipper Mayank Agarwal and Bhuvan Raju, without a run on the board. Just as the Blasters seemed to be getting a hold of proceedings with a 50-run partnership between Jeswanth Acharya (29) and Pavan Deshpande (32), comprising 31 runs from the final two overs of the powerplay, the former was run out by a brilliant direct hit from Kranthi Kumar. Suraj Ahuja (6) departed in the tenth over and Pavan Deshpande soon followed while attempting to up the scoring rate with a big shot. Shubhang Hegde (22) looked threatening but fell to mystery spinner Deepak Devadiga. In all 27 runs came in the 16th over with two sixes each from Aashish Mahesh (30*) and Lochan Appanna (17) to provide a glimmer of hope for the Bengaluru Blasters. However, the four run-outs proved to be their undoing as they eventually fell short by 36 runs, with Mahesh being left stranded on 30 runs off 24 balls along with Kumar LR who scored 16 runs off 9 balls.

Brief scores: 

Shivamogga Lions 201/5 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 70, Nihal Ullal 40, Abhinav Manohar 31; L.R Kumar 2-38, Pradeep T. 2-46, Lochan Appanna 1-28) beat Bengaluru Blasters 165/8 in 20 overs (Pavan Deshpande 32, Aashish Mahesh 30*; Shreyas Gopal 1-11, Adhoksh Hegde 1-22, V.Koushik 1-3).