Maharashtra fancy chances vs star-studded Karnataka

PLENTY AT STAKE

INDORE: Old rivals Maharashtra and Karnataka will square-off in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here on Thursday after both teams stayed unbeaten in the Super League stage.

Both teams won all their four games, and will be vying to lay their hands on the coveted trophy.

For Maharashtra, this has been a collective effort rather than individual brilliance.

Someone like a ‘ever-reliable’ Ankit Bawne, an aggressive wicket-keeper-batsman Nikhil Naik or all-rounder Naushad Shaikh have chipped in with their noteworthy performances when the side needed the most in the tournament.

Naik shone with t he bat against Railways, his unbeaten 95 playing a crucial role in the team’s 21-run win.

If Maharashtra have to tame Maharashtra and Karnataka maintained their unbeaten run to book their berths in the final. This is the second final for Maharashtra who had won the title in 2009-10. Karnataka qualified for the first time. Karnataka’s win over Vidarbha was their 13th consecutive victory in Twenty-20s — a new record. They had won their final

the famed Karnataka bowling line-up, which has quality bowlers, then one of these players will have to bat deep and rise to the occasion.

Maharashtra’s bowling is led by inform left arm-medium pacer Samad Fallah along with senior pacer D J Muthuswami.

Even left-arm orthodox bowler Satyajeet Bachhav is in prime form. Bawne said his team was performing as a unit and was excited for the summit clash. two matches in the Super League last year and have won 11 in a row in this edition.

The domestic record in India is held by Kolkata Knight Riders, who won 14 consecutive matches (including Champions League Twenty-20) in 2014. Karnataka can equal that tally if they win in the final against Maharashtra.

“We are playing great as a team and performing as a unit brilliantly. The team is excited for the final, we all want to give our best on the day and bring the trophy to Pune,” said Bawne.

Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave said his players were in form. “We would like to give (our) best shot. All our players are in form and we have shown some great team spirit and we would like it to continue for one more day.”