Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Tilak Varma and Shreyas Gopal top the battng and bowling charts respectively so far in the tournament. (AP/Instagram)
After severals rounds of intense action, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stages will come to a close on Thursday at the end of 127 league games where 38 teams were in contention.
10 teams will proceed to the knockouts with six teams directly making it to the quarter-finals. Four second-placed teams across five groups will compete in the pre-quarterfinals as all knockout games will be played in Bengaluru between December 9 and 15.
With the tournament witnessing unprecedented levels of six-hitting and 12 centuries already, both batters and bowlers have been put under the pump to enhance their performance with each round. Here is a look at the top performers thus far:
SMAT 2024: Best batters in the tournament so far
| Player | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
| Tilak Varma (HYD) | 6 | 327 | 151 | 65.4 | 169.43 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 17 |
| Sakibul Gani (BIHAR) | 6 | 326 | 120* | 65.2 | 150.92 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 10 |
| Harvik Desai (SAU) | 6 | 305 | 76 | 50.83 | 158.03 | – | 3 | 36 | 13 |
| Karan Lal (BENG) | 6 | 295 | 94* | 59 | 171.51 | – | 2 | 32 | 16 |
| Urvil Patel (GUJ) | 5 | 282 | 115* | 94 | 229.26 | 2 | – | 20 | 25 |
In the most recent game, Tilak Varma scored 46 runs and kept his position at the top of the leaderboard after scoring 327 runs in 6 innings with a strike rate of 169.43. Bihar’s Sakibul Gani, who scored 79 in their most recent game on December 3rd, is currently ranked second in the rankings. The Bihar skipper also recorded his highest T20 score of 120 not out in the tournament. Saurashtra wicket-keeper Harvik Desai is the third batter to have crossed the 300-run margin, striking over 158 with an average above 50.
Bengal’s Karan Lal who missed out on a half-century during his recent outing ranks fourth with Gujarat’s record-breaking Urvil Patel up on fifth after two spellbinding centuries.
SMAT 2024: Best bowlers in the tournament so far
| Player | Wkts | Inns | Balls | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Ave | Econ |
| Shreyas Gopal (Karnataka) | 14 | 6 | 144 | 24 | – | 125 | 8.92 | 5.2 |
| Mukesh Choudhary (MAHA) | 13 | 5 | 108 | 18 | 1 | 146 | 11.23 | 8.11 |
| K Kartikeya (MP) | 13 | 6 | 144 | 24 | – | 185 | 14.23 | 7.7 |
| Abid Mushtaq (J & K) | 12 | 6 | 103 | 17.1 | – | 144 | 12 | 8.38 |
| Jagjit Singh (CHD) | 12 | 5 | 114 | 19 | 1 | 147 | 12.25 | 7.73 |
In his most recent game, Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal bagged a hat-trick and finished with 4/19, including the vital scalps of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya. With 14 wickets in six games, he has been the tournament’s best bowler. Second on the list is Maharashtra left-armer, Mukesh Choudhary, who has taken 13 wickets in five games, while Madhya Pradesh spinner Kumar Kartikeya has taken 13 wickets in six games.
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