TN vs KAR prediction: Who will win today's Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2021-22 match?

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are all set to lock horns in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy 2021-22 on Monday. The match will take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Tamil Nadu, led by Vijay Shankar, has had a fairly decent campaign in the T20 tournament thus far. The team finished second in Elite Group A after four wins in five games, having only lost to Goa by seven wickets. In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, they looked clinical as well.

In the semi-final on Saturday, they beat Hyderabad by eight wickets in Delhi. After bowling first, Tamil Nadu shot their opponent out for 90 in 18.3 overs. Saravana Kumar was exceptional as he picked up a five-wicket haul. Murugan Ashwin and M. Mohammed got one wicket apiece.

Tamil Nadu chased the target down in only 14.2 overs with 34 balls left in their innings. Skipper Shankar stayed unbeaten on 43 and Sai Sudharsan lent him the apt support. Tamil Nadu are on a three-match winning streak and it remains to be seen if they can continue that.

Karnataka, on the other hand, have had a similar campaign compared to their opponent. Having won four out of five games in Elite Group B, they finished second in the points table with a net run rate of 0.379. In the semi-final on November 20, they defeated Vidarbha by four runs.

Karnataka scored 176 for seven in 20 overs after Rohan Kadam and Manish Pandey’s 87 and 54 respectively. Abhinav Manohar also chipped in with a handy 13-ball 27. Thereafter, they restricted Vidarbha to 172. Off-spinner KC Cariappa picked up two wickets.

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Can Tamil Nadu beat Karnataka?

Vijay Shankar during New Zealand A v India A

Both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been equally-matched teams in the ongoing T20 tournament. Karnataka’s batting, more or less, has been about Karun Nair and skipper Manish Pandey.

If Tamil Nadu can get them early, they have a great chance of restricting Karnataka. Both teams have chased well in the championship and the team, batting second, should be able to win the match.

Prediction: The team batting second to win the match.