2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

The 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was the thirteenth edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, an annual Twenty20 tournament in India. Played from 10 to 31 January 2021, it was contested by all 38 Ranji Trophy teams and won by Tamil Nadu, their second title.^[1][2]

2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Dates	10 – 31 January 2021
Administrator(s)	BCCI
Cricket format	T20
Tournament format(s)	Round robin, then knockout
Champions	Tamil Nadu (2nd title)
Participants	38
Matches	81
Most runs	Narayan Jagadeesan (364) (Tamil Nadu)
Most wickets	Ashutosh Aman (16) (Bihar)
Official website	http://www.bcci.tv
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

On 17 December 2020, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the fixtures, with 38 teams split into six groups.^[3] Groups A to E had six teams, while the Plate Group had eight teams.^[4] The winners from each group progressed to the quarter-finals, along the next two teams in Groups A to E with the most points.^[5]

Punjab and Baroda won Groups A and C respectively to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.^[6][7] Tamil Nadu won Group B to also progress to the knockout stage.^[8] The Plate Group was won by Bihar, making them the only team from that group to progress.^[9] On the final day of the group stage matches, Rajasthan won Group D,^[10] and Haryana won Group E to advance.^[11] Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh took the remaining two places in the quarter-finals, finishing the group stage as the best two second placed teams.^[12]

The first two quarter-finals saw Punjab beat Karnataka by nine wickets,^[13] and Tamil Nadu beat Himachal Pradesh by five wickets.^[14] In the third quarter-final, Baroda beat Haryana by eight wickets.^[15] In the last quarter-final match, Rajasthan became the fourth team to progress to the semi-finals, with a 16-run win over Bihar.^[16]

In the first semi-final, Tamil Nadu beat Rajasthan by seven wickets to advance to their second successive final in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.^[17] They were joined in the final by Baroda, after they beat Punjab by 25 runs in the second semi-final.^[18] In the final, Tamil Nadu beat Baroda by seven wickets to win the tournament.^[19][20]

Player transfers

The following player transfers were approved ahead of the season.

Player	From	To
Iqbal Abdulla^[21]	Sikkim	Uttarakhand
Robin Bist^[22]	Rajasthan	Sikkim
Jay Bista^[23]	Mumbai	Uttarakhand
Ashoke Dinda^[24]	Bengal	Goa
Samad Fallah^[25]	Maharashtra	Uttarakhand
Sheldon Jackson^[26]	Saurashtra	Pondicherry
Arun Karthik^[27]	Pondicherry	Tamil Nadu
Lalith Mohan^[28]	Hyderabad	Andhra
Ambati Rayudu^[29]	Hyderabad	Andhra
Anureet Singh^[30]	Baroda	Sikkim
Barinder Sran^[31]	Chandigarh	Punjab
Sandeep Warrier^[32]	Kerala	Tamil Nadu

Background

The tournament was originally scheduled to run from 19 November to 7 December 2020.^[33][34] However, in September 2020, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) warned that the domestic cricket season could be severely curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility of no cricket taking place.^[35] On 20 September 2020, Nadim Memon of the Mumbai Cricket Association emailed the BCCI to suggest that the tournament could be played Mumbai.^[36] The city has six cricket stadiums, complete with all the relevant facilities and hotels nearby.^[37] On 13 December 2020, the BCCI confirmed the fixtures and venues for the tournament, with each group playing their matches in bio-secure bubbles.^[38]

League stage

Group A Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group A Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Punjab (Q) 5 5 0 0 0 20 +2.483 Karnataka (Q) 5 4 1 0 0 16 +0.292 Jammu & Kashmir 5 3 2 0 0 12 +0.243 Railways 5 2 3 0 0 8 –1.357 Uttar Pradesh 5 1 4 0 0 4 –0.291 Tripura 5 0 5 0 0 0 –1.427   Top team advanced to the Knockout Stage Group B Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group B Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Tamil Nadu (Q) 5 5 0 0 0 20 +1.88 Bengal 5 3 2 0 0 12 +0.654 Jharkhand 5 3 2 0 0 12 +0.23 Assam 5 2 3 0 0 8 -0.961 Hyderabad 5 1 4 0 0 4 –0.199 Odisha 5 1 4 0 0 4 –1.569   Top team advanced to the Knockout Stage Group C Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group C Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Baroda (Q) 5 5 0 0 0 20 +1.465 Himachal Pradesh (Q) 5 4 1 0 0 16 +0.940 Gujarat 5 3 2 0 0 12 +0.891 Uttarakhand 5 1 4 0 0 4 –0.981 Maharashtra 5 1 4 0 0 4 –1.169 Chhattisgarh 5 1 4 0 0 4 –1.390   Top team advanced to the Knockout Stage

Group D Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group D Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Rajasthan (Q) 5 4 1 0 0 16 +0.503 Madhya Pradesh 5 4 1 0 0 16 +0.285 Saurashtra 5 3 2 0 0 12 +1.560 Goa 5 3 2 0 0 12 –0.373 Services 5 1 4 0 0 4 –0.145 Vidarbha 5 0 5 0 0 0 –1.907   Top team advanced to the Knockout Stage Group E Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group E Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Haryana (Q) 5 5 0 0 0 20 +0.869 Kerala 5 3 2 0 0 12 +0.454 Delhi 5 3 2 0 0 12 +1.913 Pondicherry 5 2 3 0 0 8 –1.192 Andhra Pradesh 5 1 4 0 0 4 –0.593 Mumbai 5 1 4 0 0 4 –1.374   Top team advanced to the Knockout Stage Plate Group Main article: 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Plate Group Team v t e Pld W L T NR Pts NRR Bihar (Q) 5 5 0 0 0 20 +1.161 Chandigarh 5 4 0 0 1 18 +5.738 Nagaland 5 4 0 0 1 18 +3.047 Meghalaya 5 2 3 0 0 12 +1.154 Manipur 5 2 3 0 0 8 –0.560 Sikkim 5 1 4 0 0 4 –2.939 Arunachal Pradesh 5 0 5 0 0 0 –2.393 Mizoram 5 0 5 0 0 0 –4.521   First placed team advanced to the Knockout Stage

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

B1

Tamil Nadu

141/5 (17.5 overs)

C2

Himachal Pradesh

135/9 (20 overs)

B1

Tamil Nadu

158/3 (18.4 overs)

D1

Rajasthan

154/9 (20 overs)

D1

Rajasthan

164/5 (20 overs)

P1

Bihar

148/4 (20 overs)

B1

Tamil Nadu

123/3 (18 overs)

C1

Baroda

120/9 (20 overs)

A1

Punjab

89/1 (12.4 overs)

A2

Karnataka

87 (17.2 overs)

A1

Punjab

135/8 (20 overs)

C1

Baroda

160/3 (20 overs)

E1

Haryana

148/7 (20 overs)

C1

Baroda

150/2 (20 overs)

Quarter-finals

1st Quarter-final 26 January 2021 Scorecard

Karnataka 87 (17.2 overs)	v	Punjab 89/1 (12.4 overs)
Aniruddha Joshi 27 (34) Siddarth Kaul 3/15 (4 overs)		Prabhsimran Singh 49* (37) Abhimanyu Mithun 1/11 (2 overs)

Punjab won by 9 wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Chirra Ravikanthreddy and Jayaraman Madanagopal

• Punjab won the toss and elected to field.

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2nd Quarter-final 26 January 2021 Scorecard

Himachal Pradesh 135/9 (20 overs)	v	Tamil Nadu 141/5 (17.5 overs)
Rishi Dhawan 35* (26) Sonu Yadav 3/14 (4 overs)		Baba Aparajith 52* (45) Vaibhav Arora 3/30 (4 overs)

Tamil Nadu won by 5 wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Anil Dandekar and Ulhas Gandhe

• Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to field.

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3rd Quarter-final 27 January 2021 Scorecard

Haryana 148/7 (20 overs)	v	Baroda 150/2 (20 overs)
Himanshu Rana 49 (40) Kartik Kakade 2/7 (2 overs)		Vishnu Solanki 71* (46) Yuzvendra Chahal 1/15 (4 overs)

Baroda won by 8 wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Jayaraman Madanagopal and Krishnamachari Srinivasan

• Baroda won the toss and elected to field.

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4th Quarter-final 27 January 2021 Scorecard

Rajasthan 164/5 (20 overs)	v	Bihar 148/4 (20 overs)
Mahipal Lomror 78* (37) Suraj Kashyap 2/28 (4 overs)		Mangal Mahrour 68* (58) Chandrapal Singh 1/21 (4 overs)

Rajasthan won by 16 runs Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Anil Dandekar and Yeshwant Barde

• Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat.
• Suraj Kashyap (Bihar) made his T20 debut.

Semi-finals

1st Semi-final 29 January 2021 Scorecard

Rajasthan 154/9 (20 overs)	v	Tamil Nadu 158/3 (18.4 overs)
Ashok Menaria 51 (32) M. Mohammed 4/24 (4 overs)		Arun Karthik 89* (54) Tanveer Ul-Haq 1/22 (3 overs)

Tamil Nadu won by 7 wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Ulhas Gandhe and Yeshwant Barde

• Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat.

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2nd Semi-final 29 January 2021 Scorecard

Baroda 160/3 (20 overs)	v	Punjab 135/8 (20 overs)
Kedar Devdhar 64 (49) Mayank Markande 1/29 (4 overs)		Mandeep Singh 42* (24) Lukman Meriwala 3/28 (4 overs)

Baroda won by 25 runs Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Chirra Ravikanthreddy and Krishnamachari Srinivasan

• Punjab won the toss and elected to field.

Final

Final 31 January 2021 Scorecard

Baroda 120/9 (20 overs)	v	Tamil Nadu 123/3 (18 overs)
Vishnu Solanki 49 (55) Manimaran Siddharth 4/20 (4 overs)		Chezhian Harinishanth 35 (38) Atit Sheth 1/20 (3 overs)

Tamil Nadu won by 7 wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Umpires: Ulhas Gandhe and Yeshwant Barde Player of the match: Manimaran Siddharth (Tamil Nadu)

• Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to field.

References

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20. "M Siddharth, R Sai Kishore carry Tamil Nadu to second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
21. "Samad Fallah, Iqbal Abdulla join Uttarakhand for upcoming domestic season". Sportstar.
22. "Sikkim ropes in Robin Bist, Anureet Singh". Sportstar.
23. "Uttarakhand ropes in Jay Bista for 2020-21 domestic season". Sportstar.
24. "Ashok Dinda to play for Goa in upcoming domestic season". Indian Express. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
25. "Samad Fallah, Iqbal Abdulla join Uttarakhand for upcoming domestic season". Sportstar.
26. "Sheldon Jackson quits Saurashtra for Puducherry". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
27. "Arun Karthik returns to TN for 2020-21 season". ESPNcricinfo.
28. "Lalith Mohan to play for Andhra cricket team". Telangana Today.
29. "Ambati Rayudu set to play for Andhra". Telangana Today.
30. "Sikkim ropes in Robin Bist, Anureet Singh". Sportstar.
31. "Punjab's 30-man probables' list for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy". ESPNcricinfo.
32. "Sandeep Warrier Shifts Base from Kerala to Tamil Nadu". News18.
33. "India's domestic 2020-21 season: Only Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali for men?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
34. "Ranji Trophy likely to begin on December 13". SportStar. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
35. "BCCI warns of severely curtailed 2020-21 domestic season". ESPN Cricninfo. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
36. "MCA Apex Council member urges BCCI to hold Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai". India TV News. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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External links

• Series home at ESPNcricinfo