'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAEAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQI/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAA0rOH/8QAHxABAAECBwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwEAAgQSEyExMlFS/9oACAEBAAE/AMIR3ldmM9mSOse0hnCXRpHz81//xAAUEQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAECAQE/AH//xAAUEQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAEDAQE/AH//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru hosted yet another Maharaja Trophy 2024 double-header on Monday, August 26. As the tournament braces itself for the impending knockouts, Hubli Tigers and Bengaluru Blasters secured huge wins on the action-packed day. They beat Mangalore Dragons and Gulbarga Mystics respectively.
After the two latest results, Bengaluru Blasters continues to remain at the top of the Maharaja Trophy 2024 points table with six wins from eight matches. Defending champions Hubli Tigers, also with six wins, occupy second place on the table owing to a slightly inferior NRR of -0.033.
Even after losing to Bengaluru Blasters, the Gulbarga Mystics retained their number three slot on the six-team table with nine points from eight games. Mysore Warriors and Shivamogga Lions similarly retained their fourth and fifth positions owing to a lack of action on the double-header day. Struggling Mangalore Dragons looks all set to grab the season’s wooden spoon after losing their fifth consecutive game.
Bengaluru Blasters and Hubli Tigers secure big wins in table-topping tug-of-war
In the first match of the day and the 23rd of the competition, the Hubli Tigers batted first and accrued 209/3 from 20 overs. They lost both openers to Shreyas Gopal and Abhilash Shetty within the first three overs. Then, Krishnan Shrijith at number three belted 77 off 44 balls and shared 148 runs with Aneeshwar Gautam. Shrijith flogged six sixes and seven boundaries in his knock, while Aneeshwar top-scored with an unbeaten 95 from 58 balls.
In response, the Mangalore Dragons line-up was folded up for just 167 by Nishchith Pai (3/21) and Rishi Bopanna (3/28). The Hubli Tigers secured a huge 42-run win and reclaimed the top spot on the Maharaja Trophy 2024 points table at one stage of the evening.
Between Bengaluru Blasters and Gulbarga Mystics later in the day, the former batted first and made 153/9 from 20 overs. Suraj Ahuja punched out 35 runs from 23 balls after his team crashed to 51/6 at one point. Gneshwar Naveen (29) also produced valuable runs with the bat to lift his team to a competitive total. For the Mystics, Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/32) and Abhishek Prabhakar (3/24) collectively claimed six wickets between them.
Chasing 154, Gulbarga Mystics openers Luvnith Sisodia (56 off 45) and Devdutt Padikkal (40 off 33) shared 77 runs for the first wicket in just 10 overs. The platform was set for the Mystics to go ballistic in the backend. However, bowlers Gneshwar Naveen (1/19) and Shubhang Hegde (2/39) tilted the tide back in Bengaluru Blasters favor with timely breakthroughs.
As it turned out, the Mystics bottled the chase to hand Blasters a narrow two-run win in a topsy-turvy final over. The outcome also helped the Blasters to displace Hubli Tigers once again from the top of the standings.
