Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 talking points: Harshal Patel, Abhimanyu Mithun, Manish Pandey, and the Meghalaya team all feature

Standout player – Harshal Patel

Devdutt Padikkal finished with 580 runs – 161 more than anyone else – at a strike rate of 176. R Sai Kishore claimed 20 wickets, conceding just 4.63 an over. Even then, Harshal Patel emerged as the finest performer of the tournament: his 374 runs (at 165) were the fourth-most, while his 19 wickets (7.04 an over) were only behind Sai Kishore’s haul.

Best performance – Abhimanyu Mithun

Haryana were placed comfortably, at 192/5, when Abhimanyu Mithun ran in to bowl the final over of the innings. Mithun took out Himanshu Rana, Rahul Tewatia, Sumit Kumar, and Amit Mishra with his first four balls, and Jayant Yadav with his sixth. He became the second bowler, after Al-Amin Hossain, to take 5 wickets in an over in T20 cricket.

Standout moment – Meghalaya’s win over Mumbai

Nothing gets as spectacular as this. Meghalaya, in their second season, stunned the biggest side in Indian cricket history, that too at their den. Mumbai’s 157/6 (Jay Bista 44 in 30, Swarajeet Das 4-0-31-2) was not too poor an effort, but thanks to D Ravi Teja (61* in 45) and Sanjay Yadav (55 in 44), Meghalaya made small task of it.

Room for improvement – venues

The final, at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat, featured a packed house, that too in a neutral match – something that did not happen in some of the bigger cities (Mumbai and Bengaluru, for example). Surat had also attracted full houses during India Women’s series against South Africa Women. The venues might have been chosen more wisely.

Best quote – Manish Pandey

“Tomorrow, a big series to come.”
– Pandey, captain of champion Karnataka, while receiving the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on behalf of his side. He got married the next day.