Karnataka Bulldozers win first CCL match; Ganesh best bowler, Pradeep man of the match

Kiccha Sudeep may not be the captain of the Karnataka Bulldozers anymore, but he is still the driving force behind the team. The superstar ensured that his band of boys, many of who have played the Celebrity Cricket League earlier, put on a great display of cricketing action, leading by example, as he kept wickets and opened one innings as well. Taking on the Bengal Tigers, the Karnataka Bulldozers claimed victory with eight wickets to spare.

This year, the tournament is being played in a new format – a T20 match, but split into four innings, with each team getting two 10-over spells; like a Test match rolled into a total of 40 overs. Batting first after winning the toss, the Bengal Tigers scored 73/8 in the first set of 10 overs, which the Bulldozers followed up with 93/5 – a 20 run lead. Going in to bat again, the Tigers needed a solid innings to keep the Karnataka team at bay, but they ran out of steam with 76/6, leaving skipper Pradeep Bogadi and his team with a target of 57 in 10 overs, which they got to comfortably.

Pradeep, who scored a half century in the Bulldozers’ first innings was adjudged the man of the match, while Golden Star Ganesh, in his debut CCL match, was the best bowler, picking up three crucial wickets and giving away only five runs in the process. Nirup Bhandari also took three wickets in his spell, but was a little more expensive, giving 16 runs. The team will take on the Kerala Strikers in next weekend’s match in Jaipur.

Meanwhile, Sudeep and most of the squad will have a busy week ahead, as they head to play in the third edition of the Kannada Chalanachitra Cup, which will be held in Bengaluru on February 24 and 25. The Bulldozers team will then take the first flight out to Jaipur at day break on February 26 for their next match.

The broadcast partner of CCL is Zee Network, with the matches available across nine television channels and streaming on Zee5. You can also catch the live telecast on the official YouTube page of the League.