The Bengaluru Blasters, the undisputed leaders of this season's league stage, have their sights firmly set on the ultimate prize—the coveted Maharaja T20 Trophy. But standing in their way in Friday's first semifinal are the formidable Gulbarga Mystics, the inaugural champions who have clawed their way to the semis after a fourth-place finish in the league stage.

On paper, the Blasters are the favourites, riding high on their current form. Yet, it would be a big mistake to underestimate the Mystics. With their championship pedigree and knack for rising to the occasion, this clash promises to be anything but predictable.

LAST 5 MATCHES

BENGALURU BLASTERS: T W W W NR

GULBARGA MYSTICS: W W L L W

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR BENGALURU BLASTERS AND GULBARGA MYSTICS

BENGALURU BLASTERS likely XI

Batters: LR Chethan, Mayank Agarwal, Bhuvan Raju, Aniruddha Joshi

Allrounders: Shikhar Shetty

Wicketkeeper: Niranjan Naik, Suraj Ahuja

Bowlers: Shubhang Hegde, Aditya Goyal, Santokh Singh, Lavish Kaushal

GULBARGA MYSTICS likely XI

Batters: Sourabh Muttur, R Smaran, Devdutt Padikkal

Allrounders: Praveen Dubey, Abhishek Prabhakar

Wicketkeeper: Luvnith Sisodia, BR Sharath

Statistical Performance (Bengaluru Blasters)

1. Suraj Ahuja

Suraj Ahuja has been in fine form in the Maharaja Trophy 2024. In eight innings, he has scored 278 runs at an impressive average of 39.71, and a remarkable strike rate of 170.55. He has also hit one fifty.

SURAJ AHUJA IN MAHARAJA TROPHY 2024

INNINGS - 8

RUNS - 278

AVERAGE – 39.71

STRIKE RATE – 170.55

50s/100s – 1/0

2. Lavish Kaushal

Lavish Kaushal has been one of the leading wicket-taker in the Maharaja Trophy 2024. In nine innings, he has taken 14 wickets at an excellent strike rate of 14.14 and an economy rate of 7.54, maintaining an average of 17.78.

LAVISH KAUSHAL IN MAHARAJA TROPHY 2024

INNINGS - 9

WICKETS - 14

STRIKE RATE – 14.14

ECONOMY RATE – 7.54

AVERAGE – 17.78

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Bengaluru Blasters)

1. LR Chethan

LR Chethan has been a reliable performer for the Blasters in Maharaja 2024. In 9 innings, he has scored 289 runs at an average of 32.11, with a solid strike rate of 144.50, including two fifties. A hot pick for the team.

2. Shubhang Hegde

Shubhang Hegde has had a stellar Maharaja season with both bat and ball. His contributions has been crucial in Bengaluru Blasters’ campaign this season, where he scored 196 runs and claimed 11 wickets.

Statistical Performance (Gulbarga Mystics)

1. R Smaran

R Smaran has been a standout performer in the Maharaja Trophy 2024. Over eight innings, he has scored 292 runs at an impressive average of 48.66 and a strike rate of 148.97. He has notched up two fifties and a century.

R SMARAN IN MAHARAJA TROPHY 2024

INNINGS - 8

RUNS - 292

AVERAGE – 48.66

STRIKE RATE – 148.97

50s/100s – 2/1

2. Abhishek Prabhakar

Abhishek Prabhakar has been lethal with the ball in the Maharaja Trophy 2024. In six innings, he has claimed 14 wickets with an outstanding strike rate of 10.28 and an economy rate of 7.45.

ABHISHEK PRABHAKAR IN MAHARAJA TROPHY 2024

INNINGS - 6

WICKETS - 14

STRIKE RATE – 10.28

ECONOMY RATE – 7.45

AVERAGE – 12.78

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Gulbarga Mystics)

1. Vijaykumar Vyshak

Vijaykumar Vyshak has been a key player for the Mystics in Maharaja 2024. In eight innings, he has taken 11 wickets and has contributed with crucial runs with the bat too. In Mystics last match, he was the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

2. Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal’s experience would be really crucial in the semifinal and Mystics would expect him to rise to the occasion. This season, he has scored 240 runs in 10 matches including a fifty.

Team Head to Head

Both teams have played five matches against each other in Maharaja T20 Trophy, with the Mystics winning thrice and Blasters twice.

BLASTERS V MYSTICS - HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Matches: 5

Blasters Won: 2

Mystics Won: 3

No Result: 0

Venue and Pitch

M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will host all the matches of the 2024 season of Maharaja T20 Trophy. The average first innings score in the league matches at this venue is 168 and in the second innings it is 150. The highest score in Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 is 228 and the lowest score is 51. Interestingly, in all the league matches this season, teams winning the toss have opted to field first.

MATCH PREDICTION

In head-to-head Gulbarga Mystics are just ahead but looking at current form in this season, Bengaluru Blasters are favourites in the first semifinal and have 70% chance to win the match.

Fantasy XI

Wicketkeeper: Suraj Ahuja, Luvnith Sisodia

Batters: LR Chethan, R Smaran (C), Devdutt Padikkal

Allrounders: Abhishek Prabhakar (VC), Praveen Dubey

Bowlers: Lavish Kaushal, Shubhang Hegde, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Monish Reddy

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Mayank Agarwal

BOWLER – Rithesh Bhatkal

ALL-ROUNDER – Shikhar Shetty