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Chhattisgarh Blue emerged as the champions of the inaugural Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup after defeating Andhra in the grand finale on Sunday by nine wickets. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh secured a four-wicket victory against Kerala in the third-place playoff.
In the final, Andhra opted to bat after winning the toss. The team from the South started off perfectly, scoring a 54-run partnership for the first wicket. Ashwin Hebbar went on to score 49 runs off 41 balls, with captain Srikar Bharat smashing 28 runs.
Batting at No. 3 Shaik Rasheed continued his good form, scoring 36 runs off 27 balls, with Pinninti Tapaswi playing a crucial role with 31 runs. In 20 overs, Andhra managed to post 168/5. Prashant Sai Painkra was the standout bowler for the Blues, bagging two wickets.
In the chase, Chhattisgarh Blue captain Amandeep Khare and Sanidhya Hurkat came out all guns blazing, stitching a humongous 158-run opening partnership in 13.4 overs. T Vijay sent back Hurkat for 43 runs.
Amandeep went on to score an unbeaten knock of 118 runs off 52 balls with nine fours and as many sixes to seal the deal in just 14.5 overs. Chhattisgarh Blue lifted the coveted trophy of the inaugural season.
In the third-place playoff, Kerala batted first and mustered a total of 143/8 in 20 overs, thanks to Ajnas M's 54-run knock off 51 balls.
However, MP chased down the total with three balls to spare. Venkatesh Iyer found his form, scoring 49 runs off 38 balls. Rahul Batham scored 56 runs in the middle and death overs to take his side over the line.
On that note, let’s take a look at how the IPL players fared on the final day of the Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup 2023.
Sachin Baby (Kerala)
Kerala star batter Sachin Baby could score just 11 runs off nine balls with two fours.
Kumar Kartikeya (Madhya Pradesh)
Kumar Kartikeya conceded 16 runs in this three-over spell without bagging a wicket.
Arshad Khan (Madhya Pradesh)
Arshad Khan was the standout bowler for Madhya Pradesh in the first innings, picking up four big wickets, and conceding just 26 runs.
Venkatesh Iyer (Madhya Pradesh)
Venkatesh Iyer bowled for the first time in this game, conceding just nine runs in his three-over spell, and went on to pick up the wicket of Krishna Prasad.
Shaik Rasheed (Andhra)
Shaik Rasheed was brilliant with the willow, adding 36 runs to the board off just 27 balls with two fours and as many sixes at a strike rate of 133.33
Ricky Bhui (Andhra)
Ricky Bhui came down the order and managed to score 17 runs off eight balls, featuring two fours and one six.
Srikar Bharat (Andhra)
Andhra skipper and keeper Srikar Bharat scored 28 runs off 21 balls with three fours and one six before getting out to Shubham Agarwal.
