Benched RCB batter's 13-ball 44, Nair & Karthik's fifties lead Mysore Warriors to Maharaja Trophy title with 45-run win over Bengaluru Blasters

Benched by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and pushed down the order by captain Karun Nair, all-rounder Manoj Bhandage smashed an unbeaten 44 off just 13 balls to help Mysore Warriors beat Bengaluru Blasters by 45 runs at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium and win the Maharaja Trophy 2024 title. Bhandage's fiery knock and opener SU Karthik, skipper Nair's half-centuries helped Warriors post 207/4. In the run chase, opener LR Chethan's fifty went in vain as Blasters suffered a collapse and could manage to post 162/8 on the board.
 

Opener hits big

In the final clash, Blasters' skipper Mayank Agarwal won the toss and opted to bowl first. Karthik CA fell early for a single-digit score to Naveen MG. Karthik made full use of the powerplay overs as Warriors were 52/1 after six overs. In the ninth over, Karthik reached his half-century from 30 balls. The partnership was broken by Shubhang Hegde in the 14th over. Karthik got out stumped. The opener's 44-ball 71 was studded with seven fours and three sixes.
 

Bhandage’s game-changing cameo

In the next over, Harshil Dharmani got knocked over by Kranthi Kumar's last ball of the spell. Hegde was expensive in his last over. Nair hit him for a six. Then Bhandage hit him for two consecutive sixes. In the 17th over, Nair hit Lavish Kaushal for a six and two fours. He reached his half-century from 41 balls. In the 18th over, Nair hit Naveen for a six and a four before losing his wicket. He scored 66 runs from 45 balls. Bhandage went berserk in the final over smashing Santok Singh for three sixes and a four. The left-handed batter's 13-ball 44 took Warriors to 207/4.

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No support for Chethan

Blasters' run chase got off to a poor start. Agarwal got off the mark with a six but got bowled by Vidyadhar Patil the next ball. In his next over, Patil dismissed Bhuvan Raju. Dhanush Gowda was introduced into the attack and he ended Shivkumar Rakshith's troubled stay at the crease. After powerplay overs, Blasters were 39/3. Chethan kept the run chase alive. He reached his half-century from 29 balls in the ninth over but lacked support from the other end. Krishnappa Gowtham in the 10th over dismissed Hedge and Chethan. The opener was stumped out for a 32-ball 51.

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After losing half the side for 72 runs, Blasters could not recover. Suraj Ahuja And Aniruddha Joshi could not keep up with the required run rate. In the slog overs, Kranthi Kumar's unbeaten 121-ball 39 and Naveen's 12-ball 17 helped Blasters post 162/8 but could not get them anywhere near the target. Blasters lost the match by a big margin of 45 runs.
 

Bhandage’s season

Bhandage has the best strike rate in Maharaja Trophy 2024. He scored 292 runs from 12 innings at an average of 41.71 and a strike rate of 213.14.

The all-rounder was picked by RCB ahead of IPL 2023 but he has not been handed his debut cap despite middle-order woes. Ahead of IPL mega auction, Bhandage has sent a message to the franchises to look his way. 
 

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