Maharaja Trophy: All-round Bengaluru Blasters win by 66 runs against Mangalore United

Maharaja Trophy Aniruddha Joshi played a blinder for Bengaluru Blasters, scoring a half-century at blistering pace, while Rishi Bopanna and Pradeep T caused significant damage with the ball, handing Mangalore United a 66-run defeat.

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Batting first, the Bengaluru Blasters saw LR Chethan (6) depart cheaply before captain Mayank Agarwal took charge, along with Aneesh KV. The India batter was the more aggressive of the two, bringing out his full range of shots during the powerplay.

Mayank looked set for a big knock in front of the fans on a special day for India, but was dismissed for 47 off 27 balls, having hit two fours and three sixes. He and Aneesh put o

n a solid 74-run stand, giving the team some much needed momentum.

Aneesh added 40 to the cause while Shivkumar Rakshith chipped in with a handy 34 driving the total past 150 at good clip. By the time Rakshith was dismissed, 190 was in range with Aniruddha Joshi teeing off at the other end.

Aniruddha threw the kitchen sink at the bowlers in the slog overs, scoring a 23-ball fifty, playing an explosive knock that took the Blasters to 191/4 in 20 overs.

After the break, the Blasters continued to dominate as Mangalore’s batting line-up collapsed quite quickly. Macneil Noronha was gone for 5, Nikin Jose got 7, Aneeshwar Gautam was packed off for 1 and Sujay Sateri added 8 as they lost 4 wickets in the powerplay. Captain Samarth R seemed to have got his touch back but could do precious little from the other end.

Samarth though could only manage 32 while Abhinav Manohar added 23 to the cause, to show some resistance. Muralidhara Venkatesh was dismissed for 2 as the Blasters continued to tighten the noose, going on to win by 66 runs.

On Wednesday, Mangalore United and Mysuru Warriors face off at 3pm while Shivamogga Strikers and Bengaluru Blasters play at 7pm in Bengaluru. 16^th August is a break day in the Maharaja Trophy which moves from Mysore to Bengaluru for the second leg.

Brief Scores: Bengaluru Blasters – 191/4 in 20 overs (Aniruddha Joshi – 57* off 24 balls, Mayank Agarwal – 47 off 27 balls, Aneesh KV – 40 off 32 balls, Shivkumar Rakshith – 34 off 24 balls, Aneeshwar Gautam – 1/25, Somanna – 1/19) won by 66 runs against Mangalore United – 125 all out in 16 overs (Samarth R – 32 off 24 balls, Abhinav Manohar – 23 off 17 balls, HS Sharath – 22* off 9 balls, Pradeep T – 3/20, Rishi Bopanna – 3/26, Kranthi Kumar – 2/13)