Tamil Nadu’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final’s hero Shahrukh Khan, after guiding his side to a four-wicket win over Karnataka, said it was special to hit a last-ball six and seal the game. Needing five runs off the final delivery, the 26-year-old launched one over deep square leg to win a third title for the  state. 

Chasing 152 runs, Tamil Nadu needed 16 off the final over. Prateek Jain, who had nailed some yorkers in the game, was entrusted with keeping Shahrukh and Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore in control. However, the former managed to steal the win off Karnataka’s hands. He played a 33-run knock off 15 balls with the help of a boundary and three maximums. 

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Talking about his mindset during the last over, Shahrukh Khan said,” There were a lot of things in my mind, but I tried to keep it simple. The ball was rough and the wicket was slow, so I wanted to connect it off the middle. I was waiting to hit it over long-on, and I got the room to get it over square leg.”

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In the final over, Sai Kishore hit a boundary off the first ball to ease the nerves. But the next four deliveries yielded seven runs, including two wides.

Tamil Nadu slipped to 95 for 4 when Khan walked in. He revived the chase with a quick 21-run fifth wicket stand with R Sanjay Yadav (5). Yadav too fell while going for a big shot.

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Shahrukh praised pacer M Mohammed, calling him the unsung hero for Tamil Nadu for the last three years.

“We played a bit slow in the middle, but that’s the trend of our team – the roles are well-defined, and the top order had trust in me and Mohammed. He (Mohammed) has been a special talent so thanks to him. It has been a special thing to hit a last-ball six. I’ll remember this for a long time,” Shahrukh Khan said in the post match ceremony.