Shahrukh Khan’s unbeaten 46 seals six-run Mushtaq Ali Trophy win for Tamil Nadu over Railways

Shahrukh Khan (46 n.o., 30b, 5x4, 2x6) struck late to help Tamil Nadu edge Railways by six runs in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group B match at the Daly College ground in Indore on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Tamil Nadu were all out for 172 for seven after being sent in.

Sent into bat, Tamil Nadu recovered from a mid-innings wobble through a late surge by Shahrukh and R. Rajkumar (31, 13b, 1x4, 3x6), the pair adding 55 runs off 33 balls for the fifth wicket. Opener Amith Sathvik made an enterprising 38 off 28 balls, hitting seven fours and combining with B. Sachin (33) for a 65-run second-wicket stand. Leg-spinner Pradhyumn Parikh finished with two for 29 as Railways applied pressure in the middle overs.

Shahrukh’s assault included powerful shots against both pace and spin: he cut and lofted for fours off spin, pulled a short delivery from pacer Atal Bihari Rai over deep square leg for six, and in the final over sat deep in the crease to launch another six over cow corner before sending a full toss to deep midwicket for four.

R. Rajkumar attacked the spinners, hitting a straight six off Pradhyumn Parikh and another six off left-arm tweaker Mohammad Saif during his 31 off 13 balls. His three sixes and brisk scoring were a key element of the late recovery that lifted Tamil Nadu to 172 for seven.

Railways lost momentum early in the chase as Slinger Athisayaraj Davidson (three for 47), making a return to Tamil Nadu’s T20 side after eight years, removed both openers in his first over. The visitors slipped to 54 for four in the PowerPlay before Varun Chakaravarthy (two for 17) struck twice in successive deliveries, bowling Mohammad Saif and forcing an edge from Kritagya Singh that Shahrukh took at slip to leave Railways 69 for six.

Toufik Mondal (57, 22b, 5x4, 5x6) and Zuber Ali (46) revived Railways with a 69-run seventh-wicket partnership off 31 balls, bringing the chase back into contention. Athisayaraj returned to break the pairing, and Gurjapneet Singh defended 11 runs in the final over to secure the six-run victory for Tamil Nadu.

In the day’s other Group B match, Mayank Yadav, playing for Delhi for the first time since 2023, produced a three-over spell of five for 14 as Delhi thrashed Jammu & Kashmir by 103 runs at the Holkar Stadium. Both matches were Group B fixtures in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.