Ahmedabad:Tamil Nadu thrashed Baroda by seven wickets in the final to lift the coveted Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at Sardar Patel Stadium, here on Sunday.
This was Tamil Nadu’s second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy victory , after winning their first title way back in 2006-07. Notably, both title wins came under Dinesh Karthik's captaincy, 14 years apart.Baroda, who had won the title twice in the past (in 2011-12 and 2013-14), ended runners-up this time.
After restricting Baroda to 120 for 9, Tamil Nadu overhauled the target in 18 overs, with opener C Hari Nishaanth top-scoring with 35.Chasing 121, Tamil Nadu openers Hari Nishanth and N Jagadeeshan put on 26 runs for the first wicket, and Baroda finally ended the stand in the fourth over as Lukman Meriwala dismissed Jagadeeshan (14).
Baba Aparajith and Nishanth then combined to forge a 41-run stand for the second wicket.
However, Baroda clawed their way back as Babashafi Pathan dismissed Nishanth (35) in the 12th over, reducing Baroda to 67/2 and givjng his team a glimmer of hope.Skipper Dinesh Karthik played his part with a 16-ball 22 but he was dismissed when his side needed 20 runs off 23 balls.Aparajith and Shahrukh Khan (18 not out off 7 balls; 2x4; 1x6) then ensured that Tamil Nadu did not suffer from more hiccups and took home.
Earlier in the day, Vishnu Solanki (49) combined with Atit Sheth (29) to stitch a 58-run stand for the seventh wicket and propelled Baroda to 120 for 9 after being put to bat first on Sunday.
Tamil Nadu spinner M Siddharth, playing in his first match of the tournament, had spun a trap to take four wickets and left Baroda reeling at 36 for 6 before Solanki and Sheth led a remarkable recovery for their team.
Siddharth picked up 4 wickets and conceded just 20 runs in his 4 overs while Sonu Yadav, Baba Aparajith and M Mohammed picked one wicket each.
Brief Scores: Baroda 120/9 (Vishnu Solanki 49, Atit Sheth 29; M Siddharth 4/20; M Mohammed 1/16) lost to Tamil Nadu 123/3 (C Hari Nishaanth 35, Baba Aparajith 29 not out; Atit Sheth 1/20, Babashafi Pathan 1/23) by 7 wickets.
