Bilaspur Bulls claimed their first-ever Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League (CCPL) title in commanding style 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. The Bulls delivered a collective performance to lift the trophy, but it was right-arm medium pacer Bharat Gondwani who orchestrated the victory with a match-winning spell, earning the Player of the Match award.
Gondwani's Bowling Masterclass
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, returning figures of three wickets to restrict Raigarh Lions to 160 for 8 in their 20 overs. His breakthroughs prevented the Lions from capitalizing 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 excellent support from Varun Singh Bhuie and Mohit Raut, who each took two wickets.
Chase Completed in Style
Chasing a 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, guiding the Bulls 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 victory by keeping Raigarh Lions 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.
