Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021: Top 3 run-scorers
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 came to a conclusion on Monday, with Tamil Nadu beating Karnataka in a final-ball thriller.
Tamil Nadu won India's domestic T20 tournament for the second year in a row.
After R Sai Kishore's stunning spell with the ball helped restrict Karnataka to 151/7, Tamil Nadu scored at a sluggish tempo, and when N Jagadeesan (41) and Vijay Shankar (18) fell off consecutive deliveries in the 16th over, it looked like Manish Pandey's team was in the driving seat.
However, a late assault from Shahrukh Khan saw Tamil Nadu win the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in a dramatic finish.
Tamil Nadu needed five off the final delivery and Shahrukh smashed it over square leg to seal the win for his team. Shahrukh Khan finished with 33 off 15, giving his credentials as a finisher a major boost.
There were some memorable performances, both with bat and ball, this season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
From Prabhsimran Singh's 61-ball 119 against Goa to Darshan Nalkande taking four wickets in four balls against Karnataka in the semi-final, some players lit the stage up with their brilliance.
There were players who consistently delivered in their disciplines. Let's see who finished as the highest run-scorers in the tournament.
Highest run scorers in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021
#1 Tanmay Agarwal - 334 runs
Hyderabad captain Tanmay Agarwal led from the front as they reached the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021.
Tanmay began the campaign with a 55 against Saurashtra before smashing an unbeaten 97 against Uttarakhand. He went on to score two more half-centuries.
The only match when he did not score more than 30 this season was in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu, when he made just 1 run as Hyderabad were bowled out for 90.
He struck at 148.44 this season, averaging 55.66.
#2 Deepak Hooda - 294 runs
Deepak Hooda, batting in the middle order, put in a brilliant show for Rajasthan en route to the quarter-finals, and finished as the second highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Hooda began his campaign with an unbeaten 75 against Jharkhand. The next two matches saw him score 50 and 70* against Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh respectively.
He went on to score 75 runs against Haryana in the final group stage match.
Hooda scored 294 runs at a strike rate of 168. He averaged 73.50 this season.
That Hooda was as prolific as he was from the No.4 position made his heroics even more special.
The left-hander not only scored tons of runs, he did it at a very good rate and will give his stock a boost ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction later this year.
#3 Ajinkya Rahane - 286
Veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane finished third in the list of run-scorers in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. He shortly missed out on the second spot behind Deepak Hooda.
Rahane captained Mumbai and despite not being able to go past the group stage, he was their star player with the bat.
Rahane had scores of 75, 54, 69 and 71 in four of his five matches in the season.
He is likely to be in the player pool for the IPL 2022 mega auction, and his performances in SMAT 2021 will have done him no harm in his chances of getting a good bid.
Rahane's good form will also give him a good confidence boost ahead of the two-match Test series against New Zealand, in the first of which he will lead India.