Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 Final: Shahrukh Khan lifts Tamil Nadu to thrilling win over Karnataka with last-ball six

Shahrukh Khan (33* off 15) played a scintillating cameo as Tamil Nadu came from behind to sink Karnataka by four wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 final in Delhi on Monday.

Chasing 152 for victory, Tamil Nadu lost their way and stumbled to 97 for 4 after 16 overs. However, the chasing side stayed in the hut, looting 19 off the 17th over bowled by Darshan MB. After Sanjay Yadav began the over with a four, Shahrukh clubbed a six over long-on. The hard-hitting batter from Tamil Nadu slammed the next ball between extra cover and long-off for a boundary. A couple of wides also helped as the equation came down to 36 off 18.

Yadav (5) and M Mohammed (5) perished cheaply to put the pressure back on Tamil Nadu. Shahrukh muscled a brilliant six down the ground off the last ball of the penultimate over bowled by Vidyadhar Patil. However, Tamil Nadu still needed 16 off the last over and significantly, Shahrukh was off strike.

R Sai Kishore, who had earlier claimed three wickets with the ball, began the last over by edging Prateek Jain behind the wickets for a crucial four. A couple of wides and some good running between the wickets brought the equation to five off the last ball. Shahrukh slammed the last ball of the final for a six over deep square leg to clinch a famous win for Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, N Jagadeesan (41 off 46) and Hari Nishaanth (23 off 12) got Tamil Nadu off to a blazing start but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nishaanth began with a well-timed six in the first over bowled by J Suchith. He was looking in great rhythm but threw away a great start, getting run out while attempting a risky run.

Karun Nair then trapped Sai Sudharsan (9) lbw as the Tamil Nadu batter missed his sweep. KC Cariappa dealt Tamil Nadu’s hopes a double blow by dismissing Vijay Shankar (18) and Jagadeesan off consecutive deliveries. While the Tamil Nadu skipper sliced a catch to long-off, Jagadeesan perished in similar fashion. Shahrukh’s brilliance, however, made the difference in the end.

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Sai Kishore’s brilliance helps Tamil Nadu restrict Karnataka to 151 for 7

R Sai Kishore came up with an excellent bowling performance of 3 for 12 as Tamil Nadu restricted Karnataka to 151 for 7 after winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Karnataka crumbled to 32 for 3 inside six overs before Abhinav Manohar (46 off 37) and Praveen Dubey (33 off 25) lifted them.

Rohan Kadam (0), Karnataka’s hero in the semis, was undone by a classical left-arm spinner’s delivery and was bowled through the gate by Sai Kishore. Karun Nair (18) looked good during his brief stay but perished to Sanjay Yadav, missing his slog sweep.

Off the very next ball, Sai Kishore dealt Karnataka another massive blow, sending back their skipper Manish Pandey (13). The experienced batter was beaten with a good-length delivery that turned away and crashed into the stumps.

Manohar played a few impressive strokes to give Karnataka’s innings some momentum. After thumping Murugan Ashwin for a six down the ground, he slapped T Natarajan for a four between mid-off and cover. At the halfway stage, Tamil Nadu still had Karnataka reeling at 67 for 3.

Just when Karnataka seemed to be launching some sort of a fightback, Sai Kishore struck again by sending back Sharath BR. The batter was brilliantly caught by Sai Sudharsan, who ran back from cover and took a fine grab.

Manohar deserved a half-century but perished to Sandeep Warrier, trying to up the ante. The penultimate over saw Dubey smashing the bowler for two fours and a six. He began by scooping an inside out boundary between extra cover and long-off and followed it up by clobbering a maximum over deep extra cover. Another four was smacked through deep extra cover as 16 came of the 19th over.

Jagadeesha Suchith (18 off 7) slammed Natarajan for a six in the last over but the left-arm seamer hit back by having Dubey caught at mid-off. Suchith was run out off the last ball but Karnataka had recovered well, slamming 55 from the last five overs. It wasn’t to be enough though, as Tamil Nadu got home in stunning fashion.