CCL 2024: Mumbai Heroes trounce Bhojpuri Dabanggs with nail-biting 1-run victory, but is it going to be enough?

When the trend has been in favour of teams batting first, it is a little bewildering when the side that’s won the toss chooses to bowl first. The Bhojpuri Dabanggs, who’d lost two group stage matches already and, absolutely needed a win to stay in the tournament, floundered their chance, by betting on being able to chase down whatever target the Mumbai Heroes set for them. The Dabanggs tried hard and almost came within a whisker of a win, but the Heroes’ bowlers persisted, making it the second match of the tournament with a 1-run victory margin.

Batting first, the Mumbai Heroes got to 95 for the loss of 3 wickets only, a total that the Bhojpuri Dabanggs fell short of by 6 runs. Back to bat again, the Heroes ended their innings at 92 for 6 wickets, setting the Dabanggs a target of 99 for the win. Going by the scorecards of most of the Hyderabad matches, it seemed like an achievable task.

And this is where it got interesting. The Dabanggs’ chase progressed at a rather unrushed pace, until the very end, when they suddenly stepped on the gas for a last-minute dash to the finish line. It was a tantalizing last two overs, during which the match could have gone either way, but to their absolute bad luck, the Dabanggs ran out of gas on the very last ball, falling short by 2 and handing the Heroes a win that they almost thought was out of their hands.

A third straight loss, of course, means it is the end of the road for the Dabanggs, although they have one more group stage match against the Bengal Tigers. A consolation win to avoid a total washout is all that they can aim for at this stage.

The Mumbai Heroes, after 3 games and 2 wins, were at fourth position on the points table, behind the Chennai Rhinos, Telugu Warriors and Karnataka Bulldozers. The top 4 teams in terms of points and net run rate will head into the qualifiers in Vizag and the Heroes should make it, unless, say, they lose their next match and the Bengal Tigers win their next 2.

The next match for the day is the much-awaited encounter between the Chennai Rhinos and the Karnataka Bulldozers, both of who are at the top of the points table currently.