Maharaja Trophy 2022, Bengaluru vs Gulbarga: LR Chethan heroics in vain as Mystics clinch maiden title
The Maharaja Trophy 2022 final was an absolute humdinger with both Gulbarga Mystics and Bengaluru Blasters jousting it out till the very end, before the former pulled away with an 11-run win at the electric M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday (August 26).
The Gulbarga Mystics set the tone for a run-fest in the final, setting a daunting 221 to chase, but making it look easy was Blasters' opener LR Chethan, who went berserk with a 40-ball-91 to keep his side in the hunt after their below-par start.
The batter, one of the finds of the tournament, went hammer and tongs, smacking six fours and eight sixes to pin the Mystics to the mat. He finished the Maharaja Trophy 2022 with 447 runs from 11 games, just behind his skipper, Mayank Agarwal (496).
He found an able ally in Kranthi Kumar (21-ball 47; 3x4, 3x6) as the duo went on the offensive, putting on 92 for the sixth wicket. That said, the run-fest still saw the Mystics stifle the Blasters to a close 209/9 that went to the final ball, allowing them to grab the Maharaja Trophy after the mid-overs scare.
After tasting defeat in the Qualifiers despite Rohan Patil's counter-attacking ton, the Mystics took their revenge in the final by putting out a solid showing with the bat, despite being put under the pump with the ball.
The Mystics had Manoj Bhandage to thank for his 3/32 from his three overs, that included the wickets of Chethan and Kumar, giving them a chance to pull things back in their favor.
Maharaja Trophy 2022: Padikkal's consecutive fifties, Rohan Patil, Jeswanth Acharya's explosive start, and Manish Pandey's end overs blitzkrieg
Earlier, Rohan Patil (20-ball-38; 6x4, 1x6) gave the Mystics the impetus in the decisive Maharaja Trophy 2022 final, taking Ronit More for 10 runs in the first over and cracking three fours off Santok Singh in the second.
Jeswanth Acharya, after some rather forgettable outings in the playoffs, took his time before finding the rope to get a move on. Bengaluru's breakthrough came in the fifth over with Pradeep T getting rid of the dangerous-looking Patil.
Acharya continued to tee off and build his innings. While Patil swung for the fences, the former was content to bide his time as the side posted a dominant 73/1 in the powerplay before Mayank Agarwal snaffled one in the deep. His 16-ball 39 meant the Mystics were in position for a formidable total.
Devdutt Padikkal notched up his second consecutive half-century and it was a sedate one in the Maharaja Trophy final. His 42-ball 56 was studded with five fours and a six. The Mystics No.3 stitched a valuable 76-run stand for the fourth wicket with KL Srijith (38 off 25; 2x4, 2x6), to further consolidate on a strong start.
Player of the Match Manish Pandey provided the final overs flourish with a belter 17-ball 41 (2x4, 4x6). He clobbered successive sixes off More before getting his reprieve off a no-ball and being dropped by Aniruddha Joshi again in the same over. The duo's 62-run partnership, off just 29 balls, saw the side finish with a formidable 220/3.
The Blasters had a forgettable day with the ball. Barring J Suchith, the rest of the bowlers were expensive with More (0/60) bearing the brunt at the start and the death.