Dragons keep hopes alive

Bengaluru: Mangaluru Dragons kept their Maharaja Trophy knockout hopes alive, moving to the fourth position on the points table with a 15-run win over Shivamogga Lions at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Thursday. Chasing Dragons’ total of 191/7, the Lions were restricted to 176/9.Dragons lost their openers by the fourth over while KV Siddharth (17) failed to convert his start. Southpaw Thippa Reddy was the saviour for Dragons as he slammed a 47-ball 82 (11x4; 2x6). He was well supported by Aniruddha Joshi (34).While Lions' skipper Shreyas Gopal (2/35) accounted for the openers, Aditya Somanna (3/38) offered crucial breakthroughs. In reply, Pranav Bhatia top-scored with 39 but Lions lost wickets regularly to pose a serious challenge. Dragons' Sankalp S, Anand Doddamani and Paras Arya picked up two wickets apiece.MYSTICS DOWN BLASTERSLater, Gulbarga Mystics struggled to a five-wicket victory in 14.5 overs against Bengaluru Blasters. Blasters, who were bowled out for a paltry 113, stretched their winless streak to eight matches after their batters failed yet again. If not for D Nischal’s 36, the team wouldn't have crossed the three-figure mark. Their last four wickets fell for the addition of 10 runs.Mystics’ bowling charge was led by opening bowler Abhilash Shetty (3/19). D Avinash too bagged three wickets.Brief scores: Mangaluru Dragons: 191/7 in 20 overs (Thippa Reddy 82, Aniruddha Joshi 34; Shreyas Gopal 2-35, Aditya Goyal 3-38) bt Shivamogga Lions: 176/9 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 26, Abhinav Manohar 25, Pranav Bhatia 39; Sankalp S 2-37, Anand Doddamani 2-31, Paras Arya 2-29).Bengaluru Blasters: 113 all out in 19.3 overs (D Nischal 36; Abhilash Shetty 3-19, Sharan Goud 2-28, D Avinash 3-22) lost to Gulbarga Mystics: 114/5 in 14.5 overs (Macneil Noronha 28, R Smaran 29).