[Watch] Shahrukh Khan hits last-ball six against Karnataka, leads Tamil Nadu to consecutive SMAT titles

Shahrukh Khan smashes a last-ball six to lead Tamil Nadu to consecutive SMAT titles [Image- Screengrab]

Swashbuckling batter Shahrukh Khan scripted a major heist on Monday as he smashed a six on the final delivery against Karnataka to help Tamil Nadu clinch back-to-back Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 titles.

The defending champions needed five runs to win on the final delivery. Left-arm seamer Prateek Jain erred in length and proceeded to dish out a length ball on Khan's legs.

Khan proceeded to whip it over deep backward square leg for a monstrous six to seal the deal for his side.

Watch the video here:

Watha Shahrukh Khan 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #TNvKAR #SMATFinal https://t.co/2aa13MQxqy

The right-handed batter finished unbeaten on 33 off just 15 balls, including just one four but three sixes.

This is the third title for Tamil Nadu in the tournament's history.

They have also become only the second team in SMAT history to clinch back-to-back titles. Their opponents in the final - Karnataka - were the first team to achieve the feat between 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Shahrukh came to the rescue after Tamil Nadu's early struggles

Coming back to the final, the match in itself proved to be a fitting finale of India's major domestic T20 tournament.

Batting first, Karnataka got off to a poor start as they lost opener Rohan Kadam for a second-ball duck. Sai Kishore (3/12 in four overs) once again proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the opposition as he backed it up with dismissals of skipper Manish Pandey (13 off 15) and then Srikar Bharat (16 off 20).

4-0-31-0 in Quarter-final.
4-0-19-1 in Semi-final.
4-0-12-3 in Final.

Fantastic Sai Kishore for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali 2021 Knock-outs. He has been one of the best bowlers in the limited-overs in Domestic cricket. https://t.co/GuvgWvLdfN

Ultimately, it was the duo of Abhinav Manohar (46 off 37) and Praveen Dubey (33 off 25) followed by a brisk cameo from J Suchith (18 off 7) that guided Karnataka to a respectable 151/7 after 20 overs.

Chasing 152, Tamil Nadu got off to a brisk start thanks to a 12-ball 23 by Hari Nishanth.

But a lack of intent by N Jagadeeshan, who hobbled his way to a 46-ball 41, and an equally poor display by Sai Sudarshan (9 off 12) and skipper Vijay Shankar (18 off 22) meant that Tamil Nadu were up against it when Khan walked out to the center.

However, Khan and Sanjay Yadav took the attack to Darshan MB in the 17th over by smashing 19 runs to bring some momentum to the innings.

shahrukh khan did the job 🔥🔥!!
Tamilnadu become the Champions of syed mustaq ali Trophy 2021!!
5 needed from 1 ball at one time and shahrukh did 😀 #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy
#TNvKAR https://t.co/psXpbmhwAz

In the end, it all boiled down to 16 off the last six deliveries. Sai Kishore started the over well by scoring a four but a combination of 1s and 2s and a couple of wides meant TN still needed a big hit to seal the title.

Khan obliged big time on the final delivery to send the entire dug-out into a frenzy.

WHAT. A. FINISH! 👌 👌

A last-ball SIX from @shahrukh_35 does the trick! 💪 💪

Tamil Nadu hold their nerve & beat the spirited Karnataka side by 4 wickets to seal the title-clinching victory. 👏 👏 #TNvKAR #SyedMushtaqAliT20 #Final

Scorecard ▶️ bcci.tv/domestic/syed-… https://t.co/G2agPC795B