150/2 (14.4)
CR : 10.23
148/10 (19.4)
CR : 7.53
Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters won by 8 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Nischith Rao
4/34
Over 15
Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters 150/2
Krishnan Shrijith57(37)
Samit Dravid40(25)
Manoj Bhandage0-13(0.4)
BLB won by 8 wickets
5:21 PM IST, LOCAL TIME: Cricket rewards those who seize the moments... and today, the Blasters seized almost every single one. What began with a ruthless bowling display ended with an equally clinical chase as the Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters outplayed the Mysore Warriors to register a commanding eight-wicket victory with 32 balls to spare. Did Mysore show glimpses of a fighting total? Yes, especially through Manoj Bhandage's late fireworks. But was 148 ever enough after the way the Blasters batted? Not quite. Nischith Rao's four-wicket burst set the tone before Krishnan Shrijith and Samit Dravid calmly finished the job, ensuring the table-toppers strengthened their grip on the tournament.
Let's rewind a bit....
How did the first innings begin? Exactly the way the Blasters would have scripted it. After choosing to bowl, they struck regularly inside the Powerplay to leave the Warriors wobbling at 48/3 after six overs. Nischith Rao drew first blood by dismissing SU Karthik for 12, before Samit Dravid removed the aggressive Chethan LR for 17. Rao wasn't done yet. He returned to send Ritesh Bhatkal back for just 4, reducing Mysore to 36/3. The Warriors did manage to bring up their fifty in 6.3 overs, but the momentum clearly belonged to Bengaluru as the field spread.
Could Mysore rebuild after the early collapse? They tried. KP Karthikeya and Yuvraj Arora patiently steadied the innings with a 26-run fourth-wicket stand, dragging the score to 62/4 at the strategic timeout after nine overs. However, the Blasters refused to allow any momentum. Praveen Dubey bowled an outstanding spell of 4-0-23-0, while Shubhang Hegde and Rohan Raju squeezed the scoring rate brilliantly. Mysore crawled to 63/4 at the halfway mark, and later reached only 91/5 after 14 overs, with boundaries becoming increasingly difficult to find. Every dot ball quietly whispered the same question... where will the acceleration come from?
Who finally provided that late charge? Manoj Bhandage. And he nearly transformed the innings on his own. With wickets continuing to tumble around him, Bhandage smashed a sensational 38 off just 17 deliveries, including three fours and three sixes, while Abhishek Prabhakar chipped in with a brisk 11 off 5. Their 38-run eighth-wicket partnership gave Mysore some much-needed momentum, highlighted by a huge 23-run 17th over off Rohan Raju. KP Karthikeya battled hard for 36 off 35, but the Warriors were eventually dismissed for 148 in 19.4 overs. Nischith Rao finished with 4 wickets, while Shubhang Hegde and Samit Dravid claimed two each, completing an excellent bowling effort.
Now... The Chase!
Would chasing 149 be straightforward? Not with Rohan Patil batting like that. The Blasters exploded out of the blocks, racing to 47 without loss thanks to Patil's breathtaking 34 off just 15 balls, including three fours and three sixes. They reached their fifty in only 4.1 overs, immediately putting the required rate under pressure. Mysore did respond well, though. Ritesh Bhatkal removed Bhuvan Mohan Raju, while Arbind Kumar Rai delivered the massive wicket of Patil, ensuring the Powerplay ended with Bengaluru at 57/2 after six overs rather than complete domination.
Could Mysore build on those breakthroughs? They certainly tried. Arbind Kumar Rai bowled with excellent discipline, while Ritesh Bhatkal slowed the scoring after the early assault. At the strategic timeout after eight overs, the Blasters were 72/2, with Krishnan Shrijith and Samit Dravid carefully rebuilding. Bengaluru reached 86/2 at the halfway mark, needing just 63 runs from the final ten overs. A huge moment arrived when Samit Dravid appeared to have been caught at long-on, only for the third umpire to rule that the ball had touched the turf. That lifeline proved expensive, as the partnership only grew stronger from there.
When did the chase truly slip away from Mysore? Once Krishnan Shrijith found his rhythm. The wicketkeeper produced a composed unbeaten 57 off 37 balls, bringing up his half-century in just 36 deliveries, while Samit Dravid complemented him beautifully with an unbeaten 40 off 25. Their unbroken 99-run third-wicket partnership, stitched together from just 58 balls, completely shut the Warriors out of the contest. The pair rotated strike with maturity, punished every loose delivery and never allowed the asking rate to climb. Bengaluru eventually cruised to 150/2 in just 14.4 overs, finishing the chase with 32 deliveries still unused.
What does this result mean in the bigger picture? Plenty. The Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters continue to justify why they sit proudly at the top of the points table, extending their excellent run after already securing qualification for the playoffs. Their bowling unit fired collectively. Their batters chased with authority. It was another complete team performance. For the Mysore Warriors, however, the equation has become far more complicated. Their playoff hopes are now hanging by a thread, with only one league match remaining to keep their campaign alive. Every run... every wicket... every point now carries enormous value.
Let's rewind a bit....
How did the first innings begin? Exactly the way the Blasters would have scripted it. After choosing to bowl, they struck regularly inside the Powerplay to leave the Warriors wobbling at 48/3 after six overs. Nischith Rao drew first blood by dismissing SU Karthik for 12, before Samit Dravid removed the aggressive Chethan LR for 17. Rao wasn't done yet. He returned to send Ritesh Bhatkal back for just 4, reducing Mysore to 36/3. The Warriors did manage to bring up their fifty in 6.3 overs, but the momentum clearly belonged to Bengaluru as the field spread.
Could Mysore rebuild after the early collapse? They tried. KP Karthikeya and Yuvraj Arora patiently steadied the innings with a 26-run fourth-wicket stand, dragging the score to 62/4 at the strategic timeout after nine overs. However, the Blasters refused to allow any momentum. Praveen Dubey bowled an outstanding spell of 4-0-23-0, while Shubhang Hegde and Rohan Raju squeezed the scoring rate brilliantly. Mysore crawled to 63/4 at the halfway mark, and later reached only 91/5 after 14 overs, with boundaries becoming increasingly difficult to find. Every dot ball quietly whispered the same question... where will the acceleration come from?
Who finally provided that late charge? Manoj Bhandage. And he nearly transformed the innings on his own. With wickets continuing to tumble around him, Bhandage smashed a sensational 38 off just 17 deliveries, including three fours and three sixes, while Abhishek Prabhakar chipped in with a brisk 11 off 5. Their 38-run eighth-wicket partnership gave Mysore some much-needed momentum, highlighted by a huge 23-run 17th over off Rohan Raju. KP Karthikeya battled hard for 36 off 35, but the Warriors were eventually dismissed for 148 in 19.4 overs. Nischith Rao finished with 4 wickets, while Shubhang Hegde and Samit Dravid claimed two each, completing an excellent bowling effort.
Now... The Chase!
Would chasing 149 be straightforward? Not with Rohan Patil batting like that. The Blasters exploded out of the blocks, racing to 47 without loss thanks to Patil's breathtaking 34 off just 15 balls, including three fours and three sixes. They reached their fifty in only 4.1 overs, immediately putting the required rate under pressure. Mysore did respond well, though. Ritesh Bhatkal removed Bhuvan Mohan Raju, while Arbind Kumar Rai delivered the massive wicket of Patil, ensuring the Powerplay ended with Bengaluru at 57/2 after six overs rather than complete domination.
Could Mysore build on those breakthroughs? They certainly tried. Arbind Kumar Rai bowled with excellent discipline, while Ritesh Bhatkal slowed the scoring after the early assault. At the strategic timeout after eight overs, the Blasters were 72/2, with Krishnan Shrijith and Samit Dravid carefully rebuilding. Bengaluru reached 86/2 at the halfway mark, needing just 63 runs from the final ten overs. A huge moment arrived when Samit Dravid appeared to have been caught at long-on, only for the third umpire to rule that the ball had touched the turf. That lifeline proved expensive, as the partnership only grew stronger from there.
When did the chase truly slip away from Mysore? Once Krishnan Shrijith found his rhythm. The wicketkeeper produced a composed unbeaten 57 off 37 balls, bringing up his half-century in just 36 deliveries, while Samit Dravid complemented him beautifully with an unbeaten 40 off 25. Their unbroken 99-run third-wicket partnership, stitched together from just 58 balls, completely shut the Warriors out of the contest. The pair rotated strike with maturity, punished every loose delivery and never allowed the asking rate to climb. Bengaluru eventually cruised to 150/2 in just 14.4 overs, finishing the chase with 32 deliveries still unused.
What does this result mean in the bigger picture? Plenty. The Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters continue to justify why they sit proudly at the top of the points table, extending their excellent run after already securing qualification for the playoffs. Their bowling unit fired collectively. Their batters chased with authority. It was another complete team performance. For the Mysore Warriors, however, the equation has become far more complicated. Their playoff hopes are now hanging by a thread, with only one league match remaining to keep their campaign alive. Every run... every wicket... every point now carries enormous value.
Vyshak Vijaykumar (Mysore Warriors captain): "(On whether the toss was a decisive factor) Not really, the wicket played similar in the second innings as the first innings. The first couple of overs were tough, but we lost a lot of wickets in the powerplay. Like I said in the toss, I think 200 was a very good score; there was a breeze, and one side was very short.
(On Chethan's early departure) Yeah, he is the only one who's in form along with Ritesh (Bhatkal), so if he doesn't get runs for us, we struggle to find a partnership in the middle overs. That has always been happening in our case; we lose a lot of wickets in the 7-15 over phase. That is important to stitch a partnership and get 200.
(On what lies ahead) We've done what we were supposed to do, can't quite depend on someone else. We did with whatever opportunities we had; unfortunately, we couldn't. Hopefully things will go our way. Couple of days' rest, and hope we can come back and win that one game.
(On what can be improved in that one game) My bowling? (Laughs)"
(On Chethan's early departure) Yeah, he is the only one who's in form along with Ritesh (Bhatkal), so if he doesn't get runs for us, we struggle to find a partnership in the middle overs. That has always been happening in our case; we lose a lot of wickets in the 7-15 over phase. That is important to stitch a partnership and get 200.
(On what lies ahead) We've done what we were supposed to do, can't quite depend on someone else. We did with whatever opportunities we had; unfortunately, we couldn't. Hopefully things will go our way. Couple of days' rest, and hope we can come back and win that one game.
(On what can be improved in that one game) My bowling? (Laughs)"
Time for the Post-Match Presentations....
Rohan Patil gets the Orange Cap for becoming the highest run scorer this season so far.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: NISCHITH RAO
Shubhang Hegde (Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters Captain): (On restricting the opposition to a low score) "The discussion before the game was whether we could bowl them out for under 160, and that's exactly what we did. We're very happy with that.
(On the pitch and the bowling performance: "I think it was a brilliant wicket. We felt that batting first, a score of around 200 would have been good, but the way our bowlers performed today was outstanding.
(On whether winning the toss made the difference) Not really. We were happy to bat first as well. I think the team that played the better 20 overs of cricket was always going to win the game.
(On his catch and the finger injury) Running back for a catch is always difficult. As soon as the ball went up, there was only one thought in my mind - to catch it. I'm glad I managed to hold on to it.
(On the team's winning mentality) Our discussion is always the same. Every time we take the field, we start from zero and try to get better at whatever we do. Today was a comprehensive win.
(On giving opportunities to other players) Today we gave a couple of players an opportunity, and hopefully tomorrow a few more will get their chance as well."
(On the pitch and the bowling performance: "I think it was a brilliant wicket. We felt that batting first, a score of around 200 would have been good, but the way our bowlers performed today was outstanding.
(On whether winning the toss made the difference) Not really. We were happy to bat first as well. I think the team that played the better 20 overs of cricket was always going to win the game.
(On his catch and the finger injury) Running back for a catch is always difficult. As soon as the ball went up, there was only one thought in my mind - to catch it. I'm glad I managed to hold on to it.
(On the team's winning mentality) Our discussion is always the same. Every time we take the field, we start from zero and try to get better at whatever we do. Today was a comprehensive win.
(On giving opportunities to other players) Today we gave a couple of players an opportunity, and hopefully tomorrow a few more will get their chance as well."
And that brings the curtains down on another polished performance from the Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters. They dominated the Powerplay with the ball, strangled the middle overs, survived a brief late flourish from Manoj Bhandage, and then chased with remarkable composure through Rohan Patil's explosive start and the match-winning partnership between Krishnan Shrijith and Samit Dravid. The Blasters march on as genuine title contenders. The Warriors are left searching for one final miracle. That's all from this contest.
Until then, I am Dev Rajawat, signing off, along with my co-commentator, Rajarshi Das, and scorer Ashok Dayma. That’s it from our side. Thanks for joining. But cricket doesn’t sleep. Plenty is happening around the world. Switch tabs, follow the fun. Goodbye from this tab! TAKE CARE! BREATHE AND SMILE! CIAO!!!!!
Until then, I am Dev Rajawat, signing off, along with my co-commentator, Rajarshi Das, and scorer Ashok Dayma. That’s it from our side. Thanks for joining. But cricket doesn’t sleep. Plenty is happening around the world. Switch tabs, follow the fun. Goodbye from this tab! TAKE CARE! BREATHE AND SMILE! CIAO!!!!!