CCL 2024: Telugu Warriors rout the Karnataka Bulldozers; play-off spot ensured?

As the defending champions and at 5th place on the points table, it was imperative that the Telugu Warriors win their last group stage match and with a good margin that would bump them up on net run-rate basis. But they were facing the Karnataka Bulldozers, a team that had won all their group stage matches so far and had secured a berth in the play-offs.

CCL 2023 final: Telugu Warriors are the champs with resounding victory over the Bhojpuri Dabanggs 

This was a day on which nothing went right for the Bulldozers, and the Telugu Warriors not only notched up another win and 2 more points, bon but also crawled up to fourth position on the points table, a precarious spot, which will be confirmed, or not, based on how the match between the Chennai Rhinos and the Kerala Strikers play out.

Captaining his side in the absence of skipper Pradeep Bogadi, Kiccha Sudeep won the toss and decided to bat first, something that he’s likely regretting, because this was the day when his entire team failed to fire with the bat.

In the commentary box, an oft repeated comment was about just how dependent the Karnataka Bulldozers are on one man – Darling Krishna. The actor had made 247 runs, while the next top score was Pradeep Bogadi’s 80-odd runs. There was so much discussion around Krishna and what the team would do if he failed to deliver and what unfolded on the field was a manifestation of the same.

Krishna departed after scoring only 4 in the first innings and if it were not for Chandan’s brave knock of 63 from 28 balls, the Bulldozers would have been in major trouble, what with everyone else who came to the crease contributing in single digits only. A score of only 91 was not going to be enough to keep the defending champions at bay.

CCL 2024: Akhil Akkineni’s Telugu Warriors show why they are 4-time champions; beat Bhojpuri Dabanggs in superior effort 

And yet, the Bulldozers’ bowlers tried their best and stemmed the run flow a great deal after skipper Akhil Akkineni’s blitzkrieg 36 of 15 balls. Petrol Prasanna took 4 wickets too, but then Thaman came along and merrily scored 27 of only 12 balls to guide his team to a final score of 108, which gave them a lead of 17 runs.

The Bulldozers have been known to come back strong from behind, as they showed in their first group stage match against the Mumbai Heroes. Today was not that day, especially with the Warriors keeping a tight line on their bowling. In their second innings, the Bulldozers were bowled out for all of 87, which meant that 71 was the total set for the Warriors.

Even though the bowlers were faced with a tough ask of trying to defend this meagre total, the Bulldozers allowed the Telugu Warriors to walk away with their third win in the tournament only at the end of 8 overs and having lost 6 wickets along the way.

All eyes are now on the last group stage match. Considering that the Kerala Strikers have already been eliminated and the contest for fourth position is between the Warriors and the Rhinos, Jiiva and co will look at winning this encounter. But what if the Strikers produce another stunner like the one against the Warriors? Well, let’s wait and watch. It’s all happening in the 10th Season of the Celebrity Cricket League. Catch the action on JioCinema.