Tamil Nadu, Baroda to battle for glory

Chennai

In the 2019-20 summit clash in Surat, Tamil Nadu had gone down to southern rival Karnataka by only a run. But, the Dinesh Karthik-led side has come a long way since that painful defeat and is at a stone’s throw from adding a second T20 trophy to its cabinet.

In the ongoing campaign, Tamil Nadu boasts of a perfect record under head coach D Vasu, winning all seven (five in group stage + two in knockouts) matches. Different players, from both batting and bowling departments, have put their hands up at crucial junctures as the state side has hardly had hiccups.

The left-right opening pairing of C Hari Nishaanth (211 runs) and Narayan Jagadeesan (350 runs) have piled on the runs at the top, taking the load off the batsmen that follow. The 25-year-old Jagadeesan, in particular, has been in sublime form, racking up four half-centuries in seven appearances.

The duo, which hails from Coimbatore, would hope to end the tournament on a high by providing a blazing start in the powerplay overs. The middle-order, consisting of semi-final hero KB Arun Karthik, Baba Aparajith, skipper Dinesh Karthik and Shahrukh Khan, hasn’t failed to deliver when called upon.

While Arun Karthik and Aparajith have put off opponents with their calming influence in the middle, Dinesh Karthik and Shahrukh have destroyed rival attacks with their batting fireworks at the death. The quartet, whose components are a headache for their adversaries, will look to take the team home in the high-stakes clash. The bowling unit wears a settled look, with most members making significant contributions.

In the absence of new recruit Sandeep Warrier, who is with the India camp as a net bowler in Chennai, the pace-bowling duties could be shared between R Sonu Yadav (8 wickets), M Mohammed (9 wickets) and Aswin Crist.

The trio did not make early inroads in the last-four fixture against Rajasthan on Friday, but would be keen to deliver from the start on the night of the final. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin (10 wickets) and left-arm orthodox R Sai Kishore (8 wickets) have been consistent right through the domestic event.

And, the slow-bowling combination would love to spin a web for one last time in SMAT 2021. Standing in between Tamil Nadu and the title is Baroda, which has also won seven games on the trot despite missing seniors such as Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda.

Skipper Kedar Devdhar (333 runs) and medium pacer Lukman Meriwala (14 wickets) have been the team’s leading lights in the competition. As two unbeaten sides go head to head for the grand prize, expect nothing short of a quality contest.