Krunal, Hardik applaud Baroda’s journey in SMAT 2020-21

Tamil Nadu defeated Baroda by seven wickets in the finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday to win the title. Baba Aparajith played an unbeaten knock of 29 runs to guide Tamil Nadu in the run-chase

New Delhi: Baroda may have come up short in the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya on Monday hailed the side’s run in the tournament.

Tamil Nadu defeated Baroda by seven wickets in the finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday to win the title. Baba Aparajith played an unbeaten knock of 29 runs to guide Tamil Nadu in the run-chase of 121 runs. Manimaran Siddharth’s four-wicket haul and Baba Aparajith’s unbeaten 29-run knock helped Tamil Nadu defeat Baroda by seven wickets in the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday.

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Dinesh Karthik’s side had suffered a loss to Karnataka in the finals of 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but the side managed to pass the final hurdle in the current edition.

“Well played, boys. You should be proud of this achievement,” tweeted Hardik while applauding Baroda’s performance.

On the other hand, Krunal took to Twitter, saying: “Top effort boys! Superb performances in the tournament. We’ve come a long way and there’s a long way to go.”

In January, Baroda skipper Krunal Pandya had left the bio-bubble created for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Vadodara as the all-rounder’s father passed away. Krunal Pandya had left the bubble in order to be with his family and as a result, he did not play for Baroda in the rest of the tournament.

Krunal had played three matches in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq tournament, managing to take four wickets. In the first match against Uttarakhand, Krunal also managed to score 76 runs for Baroda.

Hardik Pandya is not playing the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy but he began his training for the upcoming white-ball series against England.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy had started on January 10, and the group stages gave many players a chance to show their skills.

The coronavirus pandemic had made the situation slightly more complex this time going into the tournament as players needed to focus not only on their games, but also on bio-bubble protocols and safety regulations. But the T20 tournament proved as a perfect opportunity for the young and fringe players to impress the national selectors with an eye on the 2021 T20 World Cup.