Bengaluru Blasters won the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, defeating Mysore Warriors by 56 runs to record their fifth tournament win. Chethan LR of Bengaluru crushed the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier in the day, scoring an impressive 88 runs in just 53 balls to lead the Bengaluru Blasters to 189/7.
Mysore Warriors would suffer their fourth defeat of the season as a result of their inability to build partnerships and Bengaluru’s strong bowling display, which was headed by Shubhang Hedge (3/28).
With a series of boundaries, impact player Karthik SU (26) started Mysore’s run chase. After hitting Santok Singh for two sixes and a four in the opening over, Karthik SU hit him for two sixes and a four in the third over. A breathtaking catch by Shikhar Shetty in Shubhang Hegde’s opening over stopped Karthik SU’s assault.
The left-arm bowler Lavish Kaushal was once again among the wickets, taking out Karthik CA (17) and Karun Nair (13) in the sixth and eighth overs, respectively, with key blows. As Kranthi Kumar cleaned up Samit Dravid (5), the Mysore Warriors found themselves under pressure at 65/4 in 7.3 overs.
In order to temporarily steady the ship, Harshil Dharmani (20) and J Suchith (16) formed a 36-run partnership. But in the 12th over, Anirudha Joshi caught and bowled Dharmani and Manoj Bhandage(0), stopping Mysore’s comeback.
After Shubhang Hegde pinged J Suchit on his pads, Mysore’s chances further diminished, and the team finished at 104/7 after 12.4 overs.
The tail was quickly discarded, but Sumit Kumar (18*) showed tenacity by staying undefeated. Gowtham Sagar (7) and Deepak Devadiga (0) were removed by Kranthi Kumar, while K Gowtham (3) was removed by Shubhang Hegde. As a result, the Mysore Warriors were dismissed for 133 runs in 17.5 overs.
The Bengaluru Blasters lost two early wickets in the opening innings while Mayank Agarawal was out of the game. In the opening over, Nischal Dega (0) was dismissed for a golden duck by Vidyadhar Patil, while in the fourth over, Karthik CA sent Niranjan Naik’s (3) stumps hurtling out of the ground. Still, Chethan LR controlled the powerplay. During the course of six overs, he hit seven fours and a six, including three boundaries off Manoj Bhandage, to reduce Bengaluru to 58/2.
Along with Chethan LR (88), Rakshit (29) made a partnership of 70 runs as they dominated the middle overs. With a half-century off of 29 balls, Chethan scored the majority of the runs.
Bengaluru was reduced to 104/3 in 11.4 overs when J Suchit made the breakthrough by catching Rakshit S at long off in the 12th over. While Chethan LR was still hitting boundaries, Suraj Ahuja (32) launched his own attack, striking Deepak Devadiga for two sixes and a four in the 17th over and then dismissing Karthik CA for two consecutive boundaries.
Chethan’s smooth blow was cut short when he was dismissed by Karthik CA and caught at long-on, as the Bengaluru Blasters appeared set for a thrilling conclusion. Karthik CA claimed his third wicket of the evening when he dismissed Anirudha Joshi (4) in the same over.
Also Read: Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024: Bengaluru Blasters and Hubli Tigers’ historic Match 17 will be decided in three super overs
In the 19th over, Naveen MG (0) was dismissed by K Gowtham, who doubled down to conclude Ahuja’s explosive innings. Both Kranthi Kumar (6) and stand-in captain Shubhang Hegde (11) finished at 189/7 after scoring 16 runs in the last over to stay undefeated.
India
