Bengaluru: A clever display of fast bowling from the Shivamogga Yodhas pacers left Bengaluru Blasters playing catch up for the majority of the innings but a late lower-order assault from Faizan Khan and Rohan Naveen propelled the hosts to 185 for seven wickets in 20 overs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
After opting to bat on a surface that was slightly two-paced, the Blasters could only manage 70 for three at the half-way mark but Faizan (29, 8b, 2×4, 3×6) and Rohan (25 n.o., 8b, 4×6) made up for the shoddy batting in the powerplay, which saw them lose three wickets.
The Yodhas bowling woes persisted with skipper Luvnith Sisodia using only five bowlers.
Just when the Blasters dug out were sitting stone-faced, managing 146 for six in 18 overs, Faizan took it upon himself to entertain them by smashing the Yodhas bowlers to all parts. His big hits to clear the boundary ropes on both sides of the wicket was then matched by Rohan, who hit left-arm quick Abhilash Shetty (1/54) for four consecutive sixes in the final over, as the Blasters added 67 runs in the last four overs.
Earlier, Bhuvan Raju’s, who was on a string of low scores, scored a fluent 23, taking Bengaluru off to a good. However, Shivamogga launched a fightback to pick up three wickets in six balls to put the brakes.
While Shubhang Hedge (31, 31b, 1×4, 1×6) looked scratchy, Samit Dravid (37, 37b, 4×4, 1×6) was quick to get off the blocks as he got a flurry of boundaries.
The pair stitched a 56-run stand and steadied the ship with their composure when the backs were against the wall to ensure Blasters did not stumble throughout the course of their innings.
Brief scores:
Bengaluru Blasters: 185/8 in 20 overs (Samit Dravid 37, Shubhang Hegde 31, Faizan Khan 29, Rohan Naveen 25 n.o.; Dhanush Gowda 2-37) vs Shivamogga Yodhas.