Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021: Teams to enter quarter-finals

It is the end of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stages, and five teams from Elite Group A to E  — Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Hyderabad — have booked their quarter-finals berth. Meanwhile, second-placed teams from these groups, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal, Kerala, and Saurashtra have made it to the pre-quarters alongside plate toppers Vidarbha.

For Tamil Nadu, the big names stood up. Chasing 146 for victory, things looked a bit dicey for Tamil Nadu at 31/2. However, a brilliant third-wicket partnership of 105 runs between opener N Jagadeesan (67) and skipper Vijay Shankar (59*) ensured they emerged victoriously.

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Kerala delivered when it mattered the most, beating Madhya Pradesh by eight wickets to finish second in Elite Group C. After Parth Sahani-led side scored an impressive 171/5 with the help of Rajat Patidar's 49-ball 77. Kerala's Sachin Baby (51*) and Sanju Samson (56*) smashed a fifty each to help the team to seal the contest.

Amongst the elite teams, Hyderabad has proved to be one of the best teams. They have secured five wins out of five after their 29-run win over Uttar Pradesh.

The teams from each Elite Group(A - E) to qualify for the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy quarter-finals :

Tamil Nadu - Elite Group A
Bengal - Elite Group B
Rajasthan - Elite Group C
Gujarat - Elite Group D
Hyderabad - Elite Group E

The teams from each Elite Group(A - E) to enter in the Pre-quarters of Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy :

Maharastra - Elite Group A
Karnataka - Elite Group B
Himachal Pradesh - Elite Group C
Kerala - Elite Group D
Saurashtra - Elite Group E

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Brief scores of last day :

Group A:

Punjab 145/6 in 20 overs (Gurkeerat 43*, Warrier 2/20) lost to Tamil Nadu 148/3 in 17.1 overs (Jagadeesan 67, Vijay 59*)
Odisha 132/7 in 20 overs (Bhati 4/27, Sharma 2/19) lost to Pondicherry 136/4 in 19 overs (Dogra 54*, R Ragupathy 39). 

Group B:

Karnataka 134/8 in 20 overs (Nair 44, Kumar 3/33, Pramanik 2/33) lost to Bengal 138/3 in 18 overs (Easwaran 51*, Shahbaz 34*).

Group C:

Himachal 148/7 in 20 overs (Dhawan 57, Chopra 35, C Stephen 4/11) beats Andhra 118 (Hebbar 43, Jaiswal 5/18, Dhawan 3/16).

Group D:

Madhya Pradesh 171/5 in 20 overs (Patidar 77, Akhil 2/35) lost to Kerala 172/2 in 18 overs (Baby 51*, Samson 56*)

Group E:

Hyderabad 147/7 in 20 overs (Agarwal 62, Yash 2/20) beats Uttar Pradesh 118 (Nath 36, Milind 5/8)

Saurashtra 166/6 in 20 overs (Jackson 79*, Jani 42, Vashisht 2/42) beats Delhi 153/5 in 20 overs (Shorey 33, Patel 2/35)