Scorecard
Tajinder Singh Dhillon scored an unbeaten 69 off 33 balls and took three wickets as the Chicago Kingsmen defeated the Baltimore Royals by three wickets to win the Minor League Cricket 2026 final at Kingsmen Stadium.
Chasing 179, Chicago reached 179 for seven in 19.2 overs, completing the pursuit with four balls remaining. Dhillon, named Player of the Match, struck six fours and four sixes to guide the Kingsmen through a tense finish after Baltimore had posted 178 for eight in their 20 overs.
The Royals, who were sent in to bat after Chicago won the toss and elected to bowl, built their innings around Prannav Chettipalayam and Jaskaran Malhotra. Chettipalayam scored 46 off 29 balls, including three fours and three sixes, while Malhotra made 44 from 28 deliveries, hitting five fours and two sixes.
Captain Sharad Lumba contributed 15 off 12 balls before falling to Ahmad Butt, but Chettipalayam and Malhotra took Baltimore past 100 with an attacking partnership. Their dismissals, however, triggered a middle-order slowdown that prevented the Royals from pushing toward a larger total.
Dhillon changed the course of the innings with the ball, removing Malhotra, Agni Chopra and Rishi Dhawan in a spell that checked Baltimore's progress. Malhotra fell at 120, and the Royals slipped to 128 for five before recovering through Mohammad Mohsin, who scored 28 off 18 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Kunwarjeet Singh added 16 before being run out, while Tanush Apte made six. Baltimore finished on 178 for eight, with Asif Mehmood unbeaten without facing a ball. Dhillon returned three for 29 from four overs, while Hassan Khan, Ali Sheikh, Butt and Ghulam Mudassar took one wicket apiece.
Chicago's chase was led initially by Syed Saad Ali, who scored 51 off 36 balls, striking five fours and two sixes. Wicketkeeper Arya Kannantha added 27 from 26 deliveries as the pair helped the Kingsmen reach 80 before Saad Ali was dismissed at the end of the 10th over.
Kannantha fell soon after at 82, and Chicago lost Milind Kumar for seven to reach 114 for three. Dhillon then took charge, keeping the required rate within reach with a series of boundaries as wickets fell around him.
Rishi Dhawan briefly threatened the chase with a four-wicket burst, removing Ali Sheikh, Hassan Khan, captain Hammad Azam and Aryan Satheesh. His figures of four for 33 from four overs brought the Royals back into contention, but Dhillon continued to score freely.
Dhillon found support from the lower order as the Kingsmen moved closer to their target. Hassan Khan scored 10 off six balls, including a six, before falling to Dhawan, while Azam made four. Hrrit Hinge remained unbeaten on one as Chicago crossed the finish line at 179 for seven.
Dhillon's unbeaten innings proved decisive in a final shaped by contributions from both teams. Baltimore had posted a competitive total through Chettipalayam and Malhotra, but Chicago's middle-order resilience and Dhillon's all-round performance carried the Kingsmen to the title.
The victory secured the Minor League Cricket 2026 championship for Chicago, with Dhillon's late-innings hitting overcoming Dhawan's four-wicket spell and sealing a three-wicket win in the final.
