Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22: Best playing XI from the tournament
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22 culminated yesterday in Delhi, with Tamil Nadu winning the championship for the third time. Tamil Nadu are now the most successful team in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy's history. No other team has won more than two trophies.
A total of 38 teams participated in this competition. The organizers divided the teams into six groups. The five Elite Groups comprised six teams each, while there were eight teams in the Plate Group. All teams played five matches each in the first round, and 11 teams progressed to the next rounds.
Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Karnataka, and Vidarbha emerged as the four semifinalists from the top 11 teams. Defending champions Tamil Nadu met Karnataka in the final, where a last-ball six from Shahrukh Khan helped them retain their championship.
Quite a few players impressed fans with their performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22, and here is the best playing XI from the competition.
Openers - Tanmay Agarwal and Ruturaj Gaikwad
Hyderabad skipper Tanmay Agarwal was the leading run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22. The opening batter was the only player to score more than 300 runs in the tournament. He aggregated 334 runs in seven innings, including four half-centuries.
Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was fantastic as well. Opening the innings for his team, Gaikwad scored 259 runs in five innings at an average of 51.80. His strike rate was close to 150.
Middle Order - Ajinkya Rahane, Jitesh Sharma (wk) and Shahrukh Khan
The vice-captain of the Indian Test team, Ajinkya Rahane, was in action during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22. He captained Mumbai and scored three half-centuries in five matches. Overall, he scored 286 runs and finished third in the batting charts.
Vidarbha's Jitesh Sharma and Tamil Nadu's Shahrukh Khan showed off their hard-hitting skills in the tournament. Jitesh smashed the most sixes (18) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22, while Khan chipped in with crucial cameos for champions Tamil Nadu.
All Rounders - Vijay Shankar (c) and Deepak Hooda
Tamil Nadu captain Vijay Shankar scored 199 runs in six matches at an average of 66.33 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22. He didn't bowl much but his captaincy was impressive.
Deepak Hooda completes the batting unit. The Rajasthan all-rounder finished as the second-highest run-getter with 294 runs in six innings. Hooda had an average of 73.50, while his strike rate was more than 165. Like Shankar, Hooda did not bowl much in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22.
Bowlers - Chama Milind, CV Stephen, R Sai Kishore, and Darshan Nalkande
The bowling unit comprises three pacers and one spinner. Tamil Nadu's left-arm spinner, R Sai Kishore, leads the spin attack, having scalped ten wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 6.06. He also took one hat-trick during the tournament.
Left-arm pacers Chama Milind and CV Stephen will lead the pace attack along with Vidarbha's Darshan Nalkande. Milind (18 wickets) and Stephen (14 wickets) were the most successful bowlers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/22. Nalkande scalped 13 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 5.88.