Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024.
Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024. Image Credit: X

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 saw one of the most mind-boggling games of the shortest format of the game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, between Hubli Tigers and Bengaluru Blasters, making it memorable for the ages.

Winning the toss, the Blusters opted to bowl first on a track that was favoring the batters throughout the tournament. The 33-run knock from captain Manish Pandey and an excellent 31 runs in just 14 balls from opener Mohammad Taha pushed the Tigers to 164 in their allotted 20 overs.

For the Blasters, captain Mayank Agarwal recorded a superb knock of 54 runs in 34 deliveries, shouldering on nine boundaries at a strike rate of nearly 160, while the 11-ball 23-run knock from Naveen MG managed to take the T20 game to the first super-over of the evening.

Hubli Tigers held their nerve in the T20 game of three super-overs- watch the video

The rules of the game have changed over the years. In the past, for such games, only one super-over was allowed for both teams before the officials would have judged the winner of the T20 game based on the number of boundaries being hit during the main innings. But now, it’s up to an unlimited number of super-overs until the T20 game gets its winner.

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The very first super-over saw the Blasters lose their captain, Agarwal, on the very first ball before Aniruddha Joshi smashed a six on the last ball to take them to 10 runs. Manish Pandey’s over-boundary on the fourth ball of the six-ball reply was about to seal the deal, but Lavish Kaushal, the bowler, held his nerve to keep the Tigers to 10/0 as they moved forward to the second super over of the game.

This time, it was the turn for the Tigers to display their batting skills first. Naveen MG was given the ball from the Blaster’s side, who bowled terrifically, using his variations and different lines and lengths to give away only eight runs of the first six deliveries. Once Vidhwath Kaverappa gave away a boundary on the first ball of the chase, it felt like the Blasters would script the victory after what had already been an exciting evening.

But the right-arm pacer, who finished the main innings of the T20 game with figures of 2/35 in four overs, made a sensational comeback in the contest to shoulder the nerves of the fans and the players to the highest level- in the third super-over.

The first five balls from Manvanth Kumar were exceptional, as he gave away only a few singles and doubles before Shubhang Hedge launched the last ball for a huge maximum to push the Bengaluru Blasters to 12/1.

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Apart from the second ball, which was hammered by Manvanth for a boundary, all the other balls were decent enough to keep the batter calm. They needed a boundary on the last ball to win the battle, and Kumar drilled it to get the job done for the Hubli Tigers, who registered their fifth win of the season to go up to the top position of the points table with a net run rate (NRR) of +0.094.

Bengaluru Blasters stayed at number three thanks to their four wins in six games in the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024. The final of the competition will be played on September 01, on the same ground.