Cricket

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy November 2021

Tamil Nadu snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in death overs as they became the first team to win the Syed Mushtaq Ali (SMAT) title for the third time. Shahrukh Khan turned out to be the real-life hero with his flawless big-hitting in the final stages of the tournament. The four-wicket win of the last ball of the match also helped Tamil Nadu avenge the one-run defeat at the hands of Karnataka in the 2019/20 season final.&nbsp;Shahrukh Khan – the finisher&nbsp;For a better part of the run chase, Tamil Nadu were playing the catch-up game as the required run rate kept going up. Things started to slow down after opener Hari Nishanth’s cameo was ended by a run out. Nishanth scored 21 runs off just 12 balls including two fours and one six. In the middle overs, Tamil Nadu found themselves toiling hard for boundaries. While N Jagadeesan struggled at one end playing the anchor role, there was a boundary drought at the other end as Sai Sudharshan and Shankar scored at a strike rate below 100.&nbsp;&nbsp;Chasing 152, at one point, Tamil Nadu were 95/4 after 15.2 overs, needing 57 runs from 28 deliveries. The final seemed to be heading Karnataka’s way for the third time in four seasons until Shahrukh walked in. The big-hitter turned the game on his head. In his unbeaten 33 off 15 deliveries, Shahrukh hit three massive sixes and one four. Tamil Nadu needed 16 runs off the final over, the left-arm pacer Prateek Jain kept on targeting Shahrukh’s legs and bowled two wides in the process. After bowling two yorkers down the leg side, he bowled in the slot and Shahrukh hit it towards the cow corner to end Karnataka’s hopes of winning their third title. Failing to defend 16 runs in the final over, Jain was left in tears as he bowled brilliantly in his first three overs conceding just 17 runs and picking up a wicket.&nbsp;Kishore’s three-fer restricts KarnatakaKarnataka did not get off to an ideal start after being asked to bat first by Vijay Shankar. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore was handed the ball in the powerplay overs. The spinner got rid of opener Rohan Kadam off the first ball he bowled. In the last over of powerplay overs, he also got the wicket of skipper Manish Pandey. In the previous over veteran Karun Nair was also dismissed. After six overs, Karnataka could manage only 34 runs for the loss of three crucial wickets.&nbsp;&nbsp;Later in the innings, Kishore came back to bowl and got the wicket of wicketkeeper-batter Sharath BR who was struggling for boundaries. He conceded just 12 runs in four overs with three wickets in his account.&nbsp;In the middle overs, Abhinav Manohar and Praveen Dubey got the innings back on track. Manohar scored 46 runs from 37 deliveries including four fours and two sixes. Pandey carried on and scored 33 runs off 25 deliveries including three fours and one six. In the end, it was Jagadeesha Suchith’s 7-ball 18 cameo that helped Karnataka post a fighting total of 151/7 on the board. Left-arm pacer T Natarajan turned out to be the most expensive bowler for Tamil Nadu as he leaked 44 runs from his four overs.

syed-mushtaq-ali-trophy-4-nov-2021

Shahrukh Khan’s last-ball six guides Tamil Nadu to record third title win 

Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat has hit out at trolls who have misinterpreted his video tweet after selection of India squad for New Zealand series at home. Unadkat posted a video on his Twitter account where he was seen hitting a pacer for few boundaries and captioned the video ‘Just another pace bowler who can bat.’ This tweet was posted on the November 14 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced the Test match squad for the upcoming New Zealand series. Thus, many people misinterpreted his tweet and stated that the Saurashtra and Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer has taken a jibe at the apex board for not including him in the squad.&nbsp;&nbsp;To this, Unadkat took a stand and said that the tweet was just to show my decent domestic series form. In a thread of tweets, the pacer cleared his intent of posting the video.&nbsp;“Shouldn’t we take things in a positive way”“By the means of uploading videos of what I was able to do in a recent domestic series (cos it isn’t telecasted), doesn’t mean I am taking a jibe at anyone or any player in anyway. I took pride in what I did for my team. I am happy. I showed off. (don’t we all love to do that?). Shouldn’t we take things in a positive way &amp; have mutual respect for everyone who’s reached this level in the sport? Typing a tweet can be easy, but reaching an elite level in a sport, in a country of a billion, is not,” the 30-year said in his tweet. Saurashtra pacer has been in fine touch with the ball in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. With bat too, Unadkat scored an unbeaten 58 runs against Hyderabad and was only dismissed once in his last five innings. Though with bat Jaydev hasn’t scored much but he has been able to pick up nine wickets in five matches. Saurashtra finished second in their group behind Hyderabad and will now face Karnataka in the preliminary quarter-final round which will be held at Arun Jaitely Stadium, Delhi on November 16, 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Jaydev Unadkat lashes out at trolls for misinterpreting his tweet, says, ‘I took pride in what I did for my team’

Vidarbha’s ambidextrous finger-spinner achieved what no bowler could do in the history of T20 cricket whether it is T20Is, franchise cricket or domestic cricket. Akshay Karnewar did not give a single run in his four over spell to deliver the most economical figures in the format. Along with 24 consecutive dot balls, Karnewar also took two wickets in the clash against Manipur in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;Chasing a daunting total of 223, Manipur was struggling in the middle overs to even post a respectable total. Karnewar created more problems for them by stemming the flow of runs and taking the wickets of middle-order batters Sanatombaroy Laiphangbam and Johnson Singh.&nbsp;As a result, Manipur were bundled out for a total of 55 in Vijayawada with nine balls left in the innings. Only two Manipur batters were able to register double-digit scores while three batters bagged ducks. Manipur lost the game by a huge margin of 167 runs which is the second-largest margin of defeat in the history of the tournament.&nbsp;&nbsp;Earlier Vidarbha posted a huge total on the board with the help of the 105-run partnership from just 35 balls for the fifth wicket. Jitesh Sharma remained unbeaten for 71 from 31 deliveries including five fours and five sixes. Jitesh was accompanied by Apoorv Wankhade who scored 49 runs from just 19 deliveries including one four and six sixes. Thokchom Kishan was the most expensive bowler for Manipur as he conceded 60 runs from his three overs.&nbsp;

With 24 consecutive dot balls, Vidarbha's ambidextrous spinner achieves what no bowler has in T20 cricket

Karnataka won a nail-biter of a game against Bengal in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021’s first super over. Manish Pandey finished the game in style hitting a six off Mukesh Kumar to ensure there are no hiccups from Karnataka after he took the game into the super over with his acrobatic fielding on the final delivery. The well-earned win has ensured a final berth for Karnataka who will now play Vidarbha in the second semi-final at the same venue on November 20.&nbsp;&nbsp;The super overKC Cariappa was given the responsibility to bowl the super over. The first ball was a dot ball as Kaif Ahmed tried to slog sweep blindly. On the next ball, Cariappa pitched the ball wide but not full enough and Kaif went for a big shot but got caught on the boundary. Veteran Sreevats Goswami then hit the third ball for a boundary but got out off the next trying to take a couple of runs. Bengal managed to score just five runs in the super over. Goswami also became the first batter in SMAT to get run out twice in a single match.&nbsp;Chasing six runs in the super over, skipper Pandey and Karun Nair walked in to bat. Pandey had not been in good form scoring 29 runs from 34 deliveries. He took a couple of runs off the first ball off Mukesh’s delivery. The pacer pitched the next one short and Pandey deposited it over deep mid-wicket boundary for a six to end the proceedings and book a place for Karnataka in the semi-final. Ritwik takes Bengal to super overBengal were struggling in the run chase of 161 with required run rate going out of their grasp before death overs. Writtick Chatterjee’s wicket in the 15th over made matters worse for them. Chatterjee was the set batter on the crease having scored 51 runs from 40 deliveries including two fours and three sixes. With the fall of sixth wicket, Bengal needed 53 runs from 31 deliveries with two new batters on the crease.&nbsp; Ritwik Choudhary stood up to the task with his big-hitting skills. After a four-run 16th over, Bengal needed 49 runs from 24 deliveries and that’s when Ritwik started to accelerate but it was not enough. Bengal needed 20 runs to win in the final over and the right-handed batter Akash Deep for two consecutive sixes off the first two balls to bring his team back in game. On the last ball, Bengal needed just one run to win but Pandey pulled off a run out from short cover position to save Karnataka from getting knocked out of the tournament.&nbsp; Nair’s whirlwind fiftyEarlier in the first innings, Karnataka were asked to bat first at Arun Jaitely stadium. At halfway mark, Karnataka were not going strong with 56 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets. But wickets in hand helped the side score freely in the second half. &nbsp;Veteran Nair who did not get a single game in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 remained unbeaten for 55 runs off 29 deliveries including four fours and three sixes. In death overs he had support from other end as well from Abhinav Manohar and Aniruddha Joshi who scored 9-ball 19 and 10-ball 16 respectively. In last five overs, Karnataka added 61 runs to the score which helped them post 160/5.&nbsp;

A run out & winning sixer: Pandey wins it for Karnataka in super over after enforcing a tie

As Shahrukh Khan finished the game in style, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper admired his big-hitting skills in death overs. CSK posted a photo of Dhoni alongside a television showing the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021 between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.&nbsp;&nbsp;The photo has been making rounds on social media. In the photo Tamil Nadu player M Mohammed who is playing a shot on the first ball of the penultimate over. Tamil Nadu still needed 31 off 12 deliveries.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was Shahrukh’s heroics that turned the game on his head. The 26-year-old remained unbeaten for 33 off 15 deliveries including one four and three sixes. The Vijay Shankar-side needed 16 runs off the final over. The Tamil Nadu finisher hit a six off the final ball of the match to finish off run chase, much like Dhoni has done over the years in international cricket and in Indian Premier League (IPL).&nbsp;&nbsp;Shahrukh’s big-hitting has been praised by Indian’s legendary Anil Kumble who was associated with Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise. He was picked by PBKS for Rs 5.25 crore after an intense bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC). He showed flashes of brilliance in IPL 2021 scoring 153 runs from 11 games with a high score of 47.&nbsp;&nbsp;With mega auction approaching and defending champions looking to build a team for coming years, it is possible that CSK go after Shahrukh. The Chennai-born batter saved his best for last as it was his highest score in this edition of SMAT 2021 after five appearances with the bat.

MS Dhoni watches Shahrukh Khan finish it in style; CSK contract on cards?

Rajasthan leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has taken the second hat-trick of the ongoing season of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Bishnoi got three wickets off the first four deliveries against Andhra Pradesh to derail their run chase in the powerplay overs itself. The young leggie has also become the third Rajasthan bowler to take a hat-trick. Rahul Chahar and Rituraj Singh are the two other bowlers who have achieved the rare feat.&nbsp; &nbsp;Bishnoi’s victims The talented young spinner has been in good form this season in the T20 format. He was given the ball by Rajasthan skipper Ashok Menaria in the fifth over of the run chase in an attempt to get early wickets.&nbsp; &nbsp;With his second delivery of the match, Bishnoi got the wicket of Andhra Pradesh’s in form opener Ashwin Hebbar who has scored a century this season. Bishnoi went through Hebbar’s defenses and hit the stumps. He knocked over the stumps again to get the wicket of Ricky Bhui on the first ball he faced. The 21-year-old made the Andhra batter Pinninti Tapaswi miss the ball as he got trapped in front of the stumps.&nbsp; &nbsp;The three wickets reduced Andhra Pradesh to 25/4 in the fifth over. Chasing a target of 150, the team could not get a solid partnership going and kept losing wickets at a regular interval. KV Sasikanth tried hard to get his team close to the target but his unbeaten 24-ball 47 went in vain as Rajasthan won the match by 11 runs. &nbsp;After taking the hat-trick, Bishnoi bowled an economical spell. He conceded 20 runs from the four overs he bowled. So far, the Punjab Kings spinner has been in good form in the domestic T20 tournament taking eight wickets from five games. He was in good nick in the second phase of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 as well and may be considered for selection in the home T20I series against New Zealand starting November 17.&nbsp; &nbsp;In the first innings, it was Mahipal Lomror who helped his side post a fighting total. Lomror scored 69 runs from 45 deliveries including six fours and two sixes.&nbsp; &nbsp;The first hat-trick of the season was taken by Tamil Nadu’s left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore against Puducherry.&nbsp;

Ravi Bishnoi bags hat-trick against Andhra Pradesh, bangs on selectors doors' with consistent performances

Tamil Nadu’s Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore bagged the first hat-trick of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 on November 6. Sai Kishore got the hat-trick in the last over of Puducherry’s innings as the batters looked for big hits in an attempt to push the score past 140. Picked in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 auction for Rs 20 lakh by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the left-arm spinner is yet to make his debut in the cash-rich league. &nbsp;Asked to bowl the last over by skipper N Jagadeesan, Kishore used his lengths well and did not let the batters enough elevation or power to hit it over the boundary. &nbsp;The first wicket was of set batter Fabid Ahmed who had already hit two sixes in his innings. As Ahmed stepped down the track, Kishore dragged the length back and bowled it wide of him. The right-handed batter hit it straight but away from his body and ended up getting caught at wide long-on by T Natarajan.&nbsp; &nbsp;Kishore came round the wicket to the left-handed batter Iqlas Naha as well. This time he pitched it up and bowled straight. Naha went for a big hit but found the long on fielder Natarajan.&nbsp; &nbsp;On hat-trick, Kishore pulled the length back again and bowled it away as Suboth Bhati tried to set himself for a slog sweep. The stock delivery took the top edge and wicketkeeper Jagadeesan caught the ball easily on the pitch.&nbsp; &nbsp;The three wickets in the final over helped Tamil Nadu restrict Puducherry for 129/8. The below par total was easily chased down with 23 balls to spare as opener Hari Nishanth remained unbeaten for 75 off 49 deliveries including two fours and six sixes.&nbsp;IPL debut in 2022? &nbsp;Kishore has had a good record in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) but has not get a chance in four-time IPL champions CSK. The sole reason can be the presence of Ravindra Jadeja in the side. Even Mitchell Santner did not get a single game in the recently-concluded season. With the mega auction coming up and two new teams bidding, it will be interesting to see if the 25-year-old starts a bidding war and gets to make his IPL debut.&nbsp;

Didn't get a single game in IPL 2021, CSK youngster bags season's first hat-trick in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

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