That's it from all of us for this game. Do keep joining us for more cricketing action all around the globe. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash and scorer Yogesh Kumar.
Krishnappa Gowtham (Mangaluru Dragons Captain):"Yeah, we always believed even when we were short of results. The way we chased this and the way BR played was amazing. Absolutely not. Because we have that firepower. I think the guys who are playing top of the order, I think we have to trust them. And I know that they can do the job for me, so I don't need to stress myself to go up the order.
I think we just backed ourselves, and the moment we went into the dressing room, everyone were pumped up and everyone were ready to just go there and do the job.
Absolutely, we all know what kind of a player Karun is. And some shots, unbelievable shots. He played, I think the ramp over the third man."
Sharath BR (Player of the Match): "I hope it is just a beginning and many more to come. Definitely not easy but the wicket was good. It was sticky in the first innings but it became good for batting in the second innings. We just wanted to take on the bowling in the powerplay and the plan never changed. Whenever I was under pressure, Rohan took on the bowlers and took the pressure off me."
Player of the Match: Sharath BR
Trusted player of the match: Karun Nair
Emerging Player of the Match: Rohan Patil
Super sixes of the match: Sharath BR (5 sixes)
Catch of the Match: Shreesha Achar
4:46 PM IST: Time for the post-match presentation.
4:40 PM IST: That’s it. What a thrilling run-chase we have just witnessed at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Mangaluru Dragons register their first win of the Maharaja Trophy 2023, thanks to a batting masterclass from Sharath BR. Their bowlers went on a journey in the first innings but Sharath and Rohan Patil stepped up and helped them chase down 202. The Mangaluru Dragons beat the Mysore Warriors by five wickets.
Chasing 202, the Dragons lost M Gneshwar Naveen on six in the very first over. Sharath BR joined by Rohan Patil and both played some fantastic shots. They scored at a brisk rate and brought up the team’s fifty in just 4.1 overs. They had a sensational start to their innings as they scored 73 for the loss of one wicket at the end of the powerplay.
Both Patil and Sharath kept on finding regular boundaries as the Warriors were left clueless. Patil hit five boundaries and three maximums to score 54 off just 27 balls. The 96-run stand came to an end when Patil holed out in the deep in the 10th over. Sharath continued his merry way as he brought up his fifty and kept the Warriors at bay.
The Warriors had no answers to the onslaught from Sharath as they surrendered to the wicketkeeper-batter. Sharath made sure that he kept the required run rate under control by hitting regular boundaries. He brought up his hundred in the 18th over off just 57 balls. He remained unbeaten on 111 to take his side across the line in the penultimate over.
Earlier, the Mangaluru Dragons won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Mysore Warriors got off to a flying start, courtesy of Codanda Ajit Karthik. He played some beautiful strokes upfront and took on the bowling from the word go. The Dragons bounced back and dismissed both the openers Ravikumar Samarth (14) and Karthik (29) inside the powerplay.
Skipper Karun Nair and Rahul Singh Rawat put 47 between them for the third wicket before the latter departed on 24. Tushar Singh also looked good for his 20 but fell while trying to up the ante. There was no stopping Nair as he brought up his fifty in no time. He along with Manoj Bhandage hit some lusty blows to help their side finish with a flourish.
Nair hit nine boundaries and two sixes to score 77 off just 39 balls before getting run out in the last over. Bhandage’s cameo of 26* off 10 balls helped the Warriors post a mammoth 201 on the board. The Dragons picked up five wickets in total but went on a journey throughout their innings. Sharath BR then stepped up with the bat as he took his side across the line in the 19th over to help them grab their first win of the competition.
18.5 M Venkatesh to K Gowtham
1 There it is, Mangaluru Dragons chased down 201 runs with 7 balls to spare. Touch full length on the off-stump line. Gowtham drills it to mid-off and sneaks a single. Mangaluru Dragons win by 5 wickets with 7 balls to spare.
4 FOUR! The scores are level now! Good length delivery width outside off. Gowtham throws his bat at it and the ball races away to deep covers for a boundary.
W WICKET! In the air and straight down the throat of long-on! Full-length delivery on the stumps. Joshi tries to heave it down the ground but gets it a bit high on the bat and the ball flies straight down the throat of long-on who makes no mistake and takes it safely.
18.2 M Venkatesh to S BR
1 Full and around off. Sharath squeezes it in the off-side for a single.