Season 5 Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20
Mysuru: Chethan hammered a fiery 60-ball 106 to steer Mysore Warriors to their maiden victory in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament in front of a packed crowd at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Manasagangothri here yesterday.
Warriors medium pacer Arbind Kumar Rai then worked magic with the ball claiming the first four wickets conceding just 17 runs. The Blasters needed a miracle to bounce back from 33/5 in 6.1 overs, eventually folding up for 131 in 16 overs.
The undisputed hero the day was the 26-year-old opener Chethan, who steered Warriors to a total of 203 with a flourishing knock containing nine fours and seven sixes.
The Mysore-lad was so dominant that he scored more than 50 per cent of his team’s total with K.P. Karthikeya (65 retired hurt, 41 balls, 6 fours, 2 sixes) being the next best scorer.
Chethan and Karthikeya helped Warriors recover from 12/2 and batted with confidence and calculated aggression. The duo added 165 runs for the third wicket in just 85 balls.
The Blasters, in reply, could not match Mysore’s fire-power on the night. The daunting equation and mounting pressure led to a series of poor strokes and they were reduced to 33 for five by the end of the power play. Rai did the maximum damage, striking off the first delivery of the innings and then accounting for three other batsmen. Captain Vyshak Vijaykumar claimed the other wicket.
Samit Dravid (30, 27 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and Praveen Dubey (36, 22 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) offered late resistance with some defiant batting adding 54 runs of 30 balls. But once Dravid and Dubey departed, the inevitable looked unavoidable.
In the first match of the day, Gulbarga Mystics scored their maiden victory defeating Shivamogga Yodhas by 95 runs.
Brief scores: Mysore Warriors 203-6 in 20 overs (L.R. Chethan 106, K.P. Karthikeya 65 retired hurt; Samit Dravid 1-27; Shubhang Hegde 1-31) beat Bengaluru Blasters 131-10 in 16 overs (Samit Dravid 30, Praveen Dubey 36; Arbind Kumar Rai 4-17).
