A Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star starred in the final of the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 to help Mysore Warriors win the game and clinch the title against Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters.
A Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star starred in the final of the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 to help Mysore Warriors win the game and clinch the title against Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters. The batter came in the lower order and played a blitzkrieg knock to take his team to a massive total in the first innings.
Manoj Bhandage, the all-rounder of RCB, showed his true potential by playing another quickfire innings to help his team get an above-par total. Coming in at No.5, Bhandage scored 44 runs in only 13 deliveries, including two boundaries and five maximums, at a whopping strike rate of 338.46.
When he came to the crease, Mysore Warriors were 119/3 in 15 overs and required someone to up the ante to provide a fiery finish to the innings. Bhandage did precisely that; he wasted no time and unfurled his range to improve impetus in the slog overs.
His maximums came from the on-side region, as Bhandage showed his power and hit two sixes down the ground and three on the square side of the ground on the leg side. He remained unbeaten in the innings, taking as many as 23 runs from the final over to take his team to a massive 207/4 and shift the momentum to his side.
Defending 208, Mysore Warriors’ bowlers put on a collective bowling show and restricted the opponents to a mere 162/8 to win the title. Vidyadhar Patil snared as many as three wickets, whereas Codanda Ajit Karthik, Dhanush Gowda, Krishnappa Gowtham, and Deepak Devadiga dismissed a batter each in the second innings.
Overall, the Mysore Warriors churned out a complete team performance on the big stage to win the game by 45 runs and clinch the title. Manoj Bhandage’s cameo eventually mattered, as the winning margin suggests.
Had the southpaw didn’t play a timely knock, his team could have ended at a lower score. Since the target was in excess of 200, the opponent crumbled in a bid to score quickly and kept losing wickets due to the scoreboard pressure.
Bhandage ended the campaign with 292 runs at a 213.13 strike rate, the highest in the competition. That knock in the final was the icing on the cake to cap off a dream season.
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