Maharaja Trophy T20: Chethan powers Bengaluru Blasters to 56-run win against Mysore Warriors

Bengaluru Blasters registered their third consecutive victory, and fifth of the tournament as they overcame Mysore Warriors by 56 runs at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 on Sunday.

Chethan LR set ablaze the M Chinnaswamy Stadium with an authoritative 88 runs in only 53 balls, steering Bengaluru Blasters to 189/7. The lack of partnerships for Mysore and a comprehensive bowling performance from Bengaluru, led by Shubhang Hedge (3/28) meant Mysore Warriors would face their fourth loss of the campaign.

Impact player, Karthik SU (26) opened Mysore’s run chase with a cluster of boundaries. Karthik launched Santok Singh for a six and a four in the first over, followed by two sixes and a four in the third over. Karthik’s onslaught was derailed by a sensational catch from Shikhar Shetty, in Shubhang Hegde’s first over.

Left-arm pacer, Lavish Kaushal was amongst the wickets again as he picked up the crucial wickets of Karthik (17) and Karun Nair (13) in the sixth and eighth over respectively. Meanwhile, Samit Dravid (5) was cleaned up by Kranthi Kumar, leaving Mysore Warriors under pressure at 65/4 in 7.3 overs.

Harshil Dharmani (20) and J Suchith (16) momentarily steadied the ship, constructing a 36-run alliance. However, Anirudha Joshi halted Mysore’s recovery, picking up Dharmani and Manoj Bhandage (0) in the 12th over.

Mysore’s prospects dwindled further after J Suchit was pinged on his pads by Shubhang Hegde, bringing Mysore to 104/7 in 12.4 overs.

Sumit Kumar (18*) showed resilience as he remained unbeaten, but the tail was swiftly dismissed. Kranthi Kumar claimed the wickets of Gowtham Sagar (7) and Deepak Devadiga (0), while Shubhang Hegde removed K Gowtham (3). Consequently, the Mysore Warriors were bowled out for 133 in 17.5 overs.

In the absence of Mayank Agarwal, Bengaluru Blasters lost two early wickets in the first innings. Nischal Dega (0) was castled by Vidyadhar Patil for a golden duck in the first over while Niranjan Naik’s (3) stumps were also sent cartwheeling by Karthik CA in the fourth over. Despite this, Chethan dominated the powerplay. He smashed seven fours and a six, including three boundaries of Manoj Bhandage to bring Bengaluru to 58/2 at the end of six overs.

Rakshit (29) joined Chethan (88) as the pair cruised through the middle overs in a 70-run partnership. Chethan scored the lion’s share of the runs, bringing up a 29-ball half-century.

J Suchit managed the breakthrough when Rakshit S was caught at long off in the 12th over leaving Bengaluru at 104/3 in 11.4 overs. Chethan continued to find boundaries, Suraj Ahuja (32) launched an assault of his own; dispatching Karthik for two consecutive boundaries and then punishing Deepak Devadiga for two sixes and a four in the 17th over.

While the Bengaluru Blasters seemed poised for a strong finish, Chethan’s fluent knock was cut short, dismissed by Karthik, and caught at long-on. In the same over Karthik scalped Anirudha Joshi (4) to mark his third wicket of the night.

K Gowtham doubled down ending Ahuja’s express innings and bagging Naveen MG (0) in the 19th over. Stand-in Captain Shubhang Hegde (11) and Kranthi Kumar (6) remained unbeaten, managing 16 runs in the final over to finish at 189/7.

Brief scores: Bengaluru Blasters 189/7 in 20 overs (Chethan LR 88, Rakshith S 29, Suraj Ahuja 32; Karthik CA 3-33, K Gowtham 2-27) beat Mysore Warriors 133/10 in 17.5 overs (Karthik SU 26, Harshil Dharmani 20, Sumit Kumar 18*; Kranthi Kumar 3-18, Shubhang Hegde 3-28) by 56 runs.