Shahrukh Khan: The 25-year old batsman from Tamil Nadu registered his career-best score to seal a tense chase at Motera.
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During the second quarter-final of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy between Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh in Ahmedabad, Tamil Nadu beat Himachal Pradesh by 5 wickets to seal a semi-final spot.
Chasing a 136-run target, Tamil Nadu were reduced to 25-3 in four overs as Himachal Pradesh pacer Vaibhav Arora put on display a superb spell with the new ball.
Just when Baba Aparajith’s strike rate was beginning to concern Tamil Nadu, they lost a couple of more wickets including that of captain Dinesh Karthik (2).
Under normal circumstances, the opposition would’ve fancied their chances of restricting Tamil Nadu but it wasn’t to be as Shahrukh Khan scored a career-best 40* (19) with the help of five fours and two sixes to seal a tense chase at the Sardar Patel Stadium.
Needing 57 runs in the last six overs, Aparajith and Shahrukh hit a couple of boundaries each off Arora to turn the tables. In the next two overs, Shahrukh hit two sixes and a four off Himachal Pradesh captain Rishi Dhawan and spinner Mayank Dagar to bring down the equation to requiring 11 runs in the last three overs.
While Shahrukh hit another two fours off Pankaj Jaiswal in the last over, it was Aparajith’s second six which finished the match. In what was his second T20 half-century, the 26-year old player scored 52* (45) in a winning cause.
Shahrukh Khan smashes 19-ball 40* vs Himachal Pradesh
Playing only his third innings of the tournament, Shahrukh scoring crucial runs in a knockout match must have enticed numerous Indian Premier League scouts (roughly) a couple of weeks before the auction for IPL 2021.
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