Bengaluru Blasters vs Mangalore Dragons, MTKSCA T20 2023, Today Match Prediction 21 August 2023

BLB vs MGD Match Prediction & Analysis

Bengaluru Blasters will take on the Mangalore Dragons in their second head to head game of the season after having lost in their previous encounter. Blasters have lost 5 matches on the trot and are in search of their first win of the Maharaja Trophy.

Mangalore Dragons who looked in great touch against the Blasters failed to get going in the next game as they finished with 120-9 batting first against Gulbarga Mystics. 

The batting collapses have become regular in the Dragons’ lineup and they lack some reliable batters in the side. Mayank Agarwal’s failure as an opener for Bengaluru Blasters has also hurt the team a great deal.

Dega Nischal is a key player at the top while Shubhang Hegde and Suraj Ahuja in the lower middle order are the ones to watch out for in the Blasters’ lineup.

Dragons replaced a few of their middle-order players and these changes didn’t work out for them in the last game. They would be better off with BU Shivakumar at 4 and Aniruddha Joshi at 5.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

BLB

L L L L L

BLB

81/5 in 11.1 7.25

MTKSCA T20 2023

Mysuru-W won by 33 runs (revised target) 19 Aug 2023

MW

185/7 in 20.0 9.25

MGD

194/3 in 20.0 9.7

MTKSCA T20 2023

Mangalore Dragons won by 23 runs 18 Aug 2023

BLB

171/8 in 20.0 8.55

BLB

105/10 in 18.4 5.62

MTKSCA T20 2023

16 Aug 2023

HT

111/5 in 13.3 8.22

SML

201/5 in 20.0 10.05

MTKSCA T20 2023

Shivamogga Lions won by 36 runs 15 Aug 2023

BLB

165/8 in 20.0 8.25

GBM

138/4 in 17.3 7.89

MTKSCA T20 2023

Gulbarga Mystics won by 6 wickets

13 Aug 2023

BLB

137/6 in 20.0 6.85

MGD

L W L W L

GBM

121/5 in 17.1 7.05

MTKSCA T20 2023

Gulbarga Mystics won by 5 wickets 20 Aug 2023

MGD

120/9 in 20.0 6

MGD

194/3 in 20.0 9.7

MTKSCA T20 2023

Mangalore Dragons won by 23 runs 18 Aug 2023

BLB

171/8 in 20.0 8.55

MGD

152/8 in 20.0 7.6

MTKSCA T20 2023

17 Aug 2023

HT

215/5 in 20.0 10.75

MW

201/5 in 20.0 10.05

MTKSCA T20 2023

Mangalore Dragons beat Mysore Warriors by 5 wickets 15 Aug 2023

MGD

202/5 in 18.5 10.73

MGD

167/7 in 20.0 8.35

MTKSCA T20 2023

Shivamogga Lions won by 9 runs

14 Aug 2023

SML

176/5 in 20.0 8.8

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Bengaluru Blasters Preview

Bengaluru Blasters will be up against Mangalore Dragons once again. The last time they met, Blasters lost by 23 runs while chasing a 195-run target. 

In the next game, though the bowlers picked more wickets, they still ended up conceding 185 runs bowling first. Now that may not be a very big ask to chase down such a target at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Blasters were very underwhelming in their response.

They were 5 down for 81 runs in the 12th over when the game was called off due to rain and by the VJD method, the opposition were declared winners. These consistent failures have kept Blasters far from their first win.

And though Shubang Hegde and Suraj Ahuja showed promise lower down the order in the run chase against Mangalore Dragons the last time around, the top order is struggling to score runs.

Mayank Agarwal’s poor run of form is also hurting their chances of winning. Dega Nischal is a key player at the top who scored a fifty against the Dragons.

Pavan Deshpande and Aashish Mahes in the lower order are also handy with the bat and can deliver some crucial runs when needed. Shubhang Hedge is also crucial with the ball and will be one to watch out for. Rishi Bopanna and Sarfaraz Ashraf are other key bowlers in this squad.

Bengaluru Blasters Predicted Playing XI:

Mayank Agarwal (c), Dega Nischal, Aashish Mahesh, Pavan Deshpande, Suraj Ahuja (wk), Shubhang Hegde, Vidyadhar Patil, Rishi Bopanna, Gaurav, LR Kumar, Sarfaraz Ashraf

Bengaluru Blasters Actual Playing XI:

Suraj Ahuja, Jeshwanth Acharya, Shubhang Hegde, Rishi Bopanna, Sarfaraz Ashraf, Gaurav K, T Pradeep, Aashish Mahesh, Pavan Deshpande, Mayank Agarwal, Kumar L R

Mangalore Dragons Preview

Mangalore Dragons have been very inconsistent with their performances. Every time they won a game it was followed by a loss. After Siddharth led them to a 194-run total with an unbeaten hundred against the Blasters, the batting order collapsed in the very next game.

After being put to bat first in their last match, Mangalore Dragons lost half of their side for just 54 runs in 9.5 Overs. Opening batsman Rohan Patil has failed to make an impact in his last three consecutive innings. 

Sharath BR scored 38 off 18 balls at number 3 while chasing 216 runs against Hubli Tigers. But since then, he’s scored 1 and 7 runs at a key position in the batting order.

Kruthik Krishna and Naveen MG replaced BU Shivakumar and Aniruddha Joshi at 4 and 5. While Shivakumar didn’t feature in the playing XI Joshi was sent down to number 9.

Neither Krishna nor Naveen delivered what was expected of number 4 and 5 batsmen. While Krishna might still get another chance at number 4, Mangalore Dragons should get BU Shivakumar at 5 followed by Gaurav Dhiman and skipper Krishnappa Gowtham.

It seems like a lot depends on the middle and lower order given how inconsistent the top-order has been. Siddharth and Sharath BR need to get back in form if Mangalore Dragons are to bounce back.

K Gowtham, Aniruddha Joshi, and Aditya Goyal will be the key bowlers to lead the attack for the Dragons.

Mangalore Dragons Predicted Playing XI:

Krishnamurthy Siddharth, Rohan Patil, Sharath BR (wk), BU Shivakumar, Aniruddha Joshi, Kruthik Krishna, Krishnappa Gowtham (c), Naveen MG, Aditya Goyal, Paras Gurbaux Arya, Sankalp Shettennavar

Mangalore Dragons Actual Playing XI:

Krishnappa Gowtham, Advith M Shetty, Gaurav Dhiman, Anand Doddamani, Rohan Patil, Aneeshwar Gautam, Sankalp Shettennavar, KV Siddharth, Aditya Goyal, Aniruddha Joshi, BR Sharath

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch is batting-friendly and plenty of runs are on offer. Batters in every team have exploited the conditions so far and we’ve seen some impressive knocks in the Maharaja Trophy including a hundred from K Siddharth against Bengaluru Blasters. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

BLB vs MGD Pitch Report

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is a great venue for T20 matches. At a high-scoring venue where defending 200 has also been very tough in the IPL, the teams in Maharaja Trophy have also chased down 185+ run totals. But the current form is quite poor and the batting performances have been inconsistent. As such, we reckon 185 or more runs on the board will give the team batting first a strong position in the match.

Toss: To Bowl

Considering the lack of form in the batting order of both teams, they would be better off bowling first and gaining an upper hand with early wickets. However, if the team batting first gets past the 180-run mark, they would be in a strong position to win the game.