Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20: Preview – November 21

Four matches – two each of the two Super League Groups – of the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be played on November 21, all of them at Surat.

Super League A: Maharashtra vs Delhi

Maharashtra were the only team to win 5 matches in Group C, which, on hindsight, can easily be called the Group of Death of the first round. They topped the group despite losing badly to Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh, and will be up against Delhi, who topped a relatively easier group.

Key players: Azim Kazi (Maharashtra), Nitish Rana (Delhi)

Predicted winner: Maharashtra

Super League A: Baroda vs Rajasthan

Baroda stopped the Karnataka juggernaut and ended up topping the group, which is reason enough to mark them as favourites from Super League A. Rajasthan, on the other hand, had to fight hard to edge past Vidarbha and Kerala to reach the second stage.

Key players: Lukman Meriwala (Baroda), Rajesh Bishnoi (Rajasthan)

Predicted winner: Baroda

Super League B: Punjab vs Jharkhand

Punjab were one of five teams to win 4 matches in Group C. They qualified only by virtue of a superior net run rate. Jharkhand, on the other hand, have enjoyed an excellent run, but they had a relatively easier group.

Key players: Sandeep Sharma (Punjab), Virat Singh (Jharkhand)

Predicted winner: Punjab

Super League B: Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu will want to avenge the Vijay Hazare Trophy final here, but the defending champions have been too dominant in limited-overs cricket over the past few years. Even here, Karnataka have looked as formidable as ever since the Baroda blip.

Key players: Devdutt Padikkal (Karnataka), Vijay Shankar (Tamil Nadu)

Predicted winner: Karnataka