CCL 2024: Bengal Tigers beat Bhojpuri Dabangss and retain No.2 position, but can they hold on to it?

One team was desperate to maintain its current position on the points table and maybe secure a berth in the qualifiers, the other wanted a consolation win. In the battle of the Bengal Tigers and the Bhojpuri Dabanggs, unfortunately for Manoj Tiwari and co, a fourth straight defeat was on the cards. It was literally a case of how the mighty have fallen – the Dabanggs were one of the best teams last year, losing only in the final to the Telugu Warriors and this time they could not find a firm footing against any of their competitors.

For the Bengal Tigers, of course, this win, with the biggest margin so far in the tournament, strengthened their position on the points table, but all eyes will now be on the Mumbai Heroes, who play Punjab De Sher in the second match of March 9. The Tigers had knocked the Heroes out of the top 4, which Riteish Deshmukh will want to rectify.

Batting first after the Dabanggs won the toss and sent them in, the Tigers were set on putting up a formidable total; it had to be three figures, the more the merrier and they managed that, getting to 121 in the first 10 over. But that wasn’t going to cut it for the Tigers; they also had to contain the opposition and prevent a successful run chase. Yet again, this mission was successful, with the Dabanggs folding their first innings at only 86 runs, conceding a 37-run lead to the Tigers.

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Skipper Jisshu Senguptha knew that if his team’s hopes of remaining in the top 4 had to remain alive, they’d have to secure a win at a margin far better than what the Karnataka Bulldozers got against the Chennai Rhinos. So, off they went to bat again and this time, they bettered their innings total and got to 134, losing only two wickets in the process. Last evening’s Badshah of the Match, Rahul top scored with 48 of 25 balls.

Chasing a target of 170 in only 10 overs is a mighty ask and for a team that’s already down in the dumps and out of the tournament, that was an unsurmountable mountain. At an asking rate of 17 per over from the start, the Dabanggs had too much on their plate and there was no way they’d manage it, even with the occasional hits to the boundary. They ended their innings at 98 for 7, handing the Tigers a 71-run victory, the highest margin in the tournament so far.

At the end of their group stage matches, the Bengal Tigers are still holding on to second position on the points table, while the Bhojpuri Dabanggs and Punjab De Sher are out of the reckoning. The result of the Mumbai Heroes vs Punjab De Sher match will establish where Riteish and co will find themselves in the tournament, provided, the Karnataka Bulldozers beat the Telugu Warriors and the Kerala Strikers come up with yet another stunner against the Chennai Rhinos. It’s literally down the wire in this season of the Celebrity Cricket League.