Bengaluru Blasters captain Mayank Agarwal played an explosive innings that kept everyone entertained as his team registered a 9-wicket win against Shivamogga Strikers. Mayank, who finished with 102* during his 49-ball knock with 10 fours and 6 sixes, is the second batsman to score a century in the tournament so far and also ends the night with the Orange Cap. Rohan Patil of Gulbarga Mystics scored his maiden century against Mysore Warriors on Thursday.
Asked to take the strike first, Shivamogga Strikers were quickly out of the block with scintillating performances from openers Rohan Kadam and Sharath BR. The openers attacked the Blasters’ bowling right from the very first over, with the intention of making good use of the powerplay.
Kadam and Sharath matched each other’s shot for shot in the powerplay, and whether he was driving it through cover or hitting it from the side, the batsman looked in supreme touch. At the end of 6 overs, he had 54 runs on the board and continued in the same vein in the middle till the rain came. Both the players were approaching half-centuries, and achieved their milestones immediately after the break, which resulted in the game being shortened to 19 overs.
Match 12 – #kbbvssss
A big chase taken by Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters. They beat Shivamogga Strikers by 9 wickets! #Maharaja Trophy #KSCA # T20 #Cricket #karnataka #IlliGeddavareRaja #Illigeddavareraja pic.twitter.com/Ts25viXubn
— maharaja trophy t20 (@maharaja_t20) 12 August 2022
Both made the batting easy, especially as Kadam crossed the 100-run mark with 116 for the first wicket. Sharath was the first player to be dismissed for 51 with 5 fours. Kadam soon went back to the hut with a scintillating score of 84 runs off 52 balls with the help of 8 fours and 3 sixes.
Captain K Gautam and Avinash D added some big blows in the final leg, taking the strikers to 173/2 after 19 overs. For Blasters the target will be 175 as per the VJD method.
The day was not easy for the bowlers, as the opening pair of Blasters captain Mayank Agarwal and LR Chetan also made good use of the batting position and the powerplay, scoring at a good clip.
Neither backing down, Chetan and Mayank bowled the kitchen sink at the strikers’ bowling, played them over the top and shared a fifty in the fourth over, very easily bridging the gap in the field during the first leg. Chetan was dismissed in the next over after scoring 34 off 15 balls, and the score was at 69.
The wicket however did not slow down Mayank, who was making the batting ridiculously easy. And as Anish KV held his end, Mayank completed his half-century off 23 balls. The captain continued to hit whatever the bowlers threw towards the century.
Brutal hitting from the skipper took the Blasters to 150/1 in 13 overs, with the strikers struggling to find a breakthrough. Mayank reverse sweeps medium pacer Hoover for a boundary and then dodged it for another boundary to reach his century, before Anish smashed another boundary to fine leg in the 16th over. Mayank remained unbeaten on 102 and was miles ahead that day, while Anish was dismissed for 35 not out.
On Saturday, Hubli Tigers will take on Shivamogga Strikers at 3 pm, while Bengaluru Blasters will take on Mysore Warriors in a 7 pm game, both in Mysore.
Brief Scores: Shivamogga Strikers – 173/2 in 19 overs (Rohan Kadam – 84, Sharath BR – 51, K Gautam – 18*, J Suchit – 1/24, LR Kumar – 1/44) lost by 9 wickets against Bengaluru Blasters – 176 / 15.4 in overs (Mayank Agarwal – 102*, Anish KV – 35*, LR Chetan – 34, Devaiah – 1/24)
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