Charging past lions, Bilaspur Bulls finally get their horns on their first CCPL trophy

Bilaspur Bulls crowned their maiden Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League (CCPL) title in emphatic fashion on Sunday night, defeating Raigarh Lions by seven wickets in the Season 3 final at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Nava Raipur.

While the Bulls produced a collective performance to lift the trophy, right-arm medium pacer Bharat Gondwani emerged as the architect of their triumph with a match-winning spell that earned him the Player of the Match award.After winning the toss and opting to field, Bilaspur Bulls relied on Gondwani’s disciplined bowling to keep the Lions’ batting lineup under pressure. The medium-fast bowler struck at crucial intervals and returned figures of three wickets, restricting Raigarh Lions to 160 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.

His breakthroughs prevented the Lions from capitalising on promising starts, with Nayan Chouhan top-scoring with 41 runs, while Sangeet Soni (32), Alok Sahu (25) and Deepak Yadav (22) made useful contributions.Gondwani received good support from Varun Singh Bhuie and Mohit Raut, who claimed two wickets apiece.Chasing a competitive target of 161, Bilaspur Bulls displayed aggressive intent from the outset. Vikalp Tiwari and Pawan Parnate scored 29 runs each, while captain Ayush Pandey anchored the chase with a fluent 33 as the Bulls raced to 164 for 3 in just 16.3 overs.

Although the batsmen completed the chase with ease, it was Gondwani’s impactful spell that laid the foundation for the victory by ensuring Raigarh Lions were kept well below a potentially match-winning total. His performance under pressure in the tournament’s biggest match highlighted his value to the Bulls’ campaign and played a pivotal role in securing the franchise’s first-ever CCPL championship.The victory marked a historic moment for Bilaspur Bulls, who capped off a memorable season by lifting the CCPL trophy for the first time.