The Marathas had established a Maratha Kingdom during the reign of Aurangzeb. They were very powerful and with time and with the decline of the Mughals would have proved worthy , opponents to the emerging British empire but the third Battle of Panipat (1761) sealed their fate. Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghan . invader gave a crushing defeat to the forces of Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao. It put an end to the Maratha power and their dream of ruling India. Thus, the way was proved for the British East India Company to gain power and become supreme.
