M Mohammed

Abhishek Singh ∙ 29 Jan 2021

Arun Karthik shines as Tamil Nadu makes consecutive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy finals

Arun Karthik, who returned to his original state of Tamil Nadu after biding his time at Puducherry for the last season, guided them to their second consecutive Syed Mushtaq Ali Final as they beat Rajasthan by seven wickets at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Motera. Tamil Nadu didn’t get off to a good start chasing 155, set up by the team from deserts. They lost two quick wickets and that too of the two in-form batsmen in Hari Nishant and Baba Aparajith for just 17 runs on the board in the fourth over. It was then that Karthik, 34, walked in to bat alongside Narayan Jagadeeshan. The two of them then started the rebuild process and added 53 in 38 balls before Jagadesshan was removed by Ravi Bishnoi off 28. Karthik then started the onslaught alongside the skipper Dinesh Karthik and from 69-3 in 10 overs, chased down the target, scoring the next 89 runs in just 52 balls. Arun scored an unbeaten 89 off 53 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes. Earlier, after winning the toss, Rajasthan decided to bat first and even after a quick dismissal of opener BS Sharma, got off to a flyer courtesy their skipper Ashok Menaria’s counter-attacking innings. Menaria, 30, made 51 off 32. Arijit Gupta was his partner in crime as the duo added 83 for the fourth wicket. But they were helped amply by some very sloppy fielding on the part of the Tamil Nadu players as both Menaria and Gupta were dropped twice each before Arun Karthik finally caught one to dismiss Menaria. Karthik in total held on to four catches and was one of the key elements of Tamil Nadu’s success in the comeback that they made after the Menaria onslaught. Mohammed Mohammed was the pick of the bowlers for the Dinesh Karthik led side as he picked up 4/24 in the game. The Tamil Nadu team now awaits the winner of the second semi-final between Punjab and Baroda, which will take place later in the evening at the same venue.