There is excitement in the air as the 2026-27 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is on the horizon. It promises to be another action-packed season with 32 teams in the Elite Group and six teams in the Plate Group battling it out. Over the years, we've seen some breathtaking knocks, scintillating spells, thrilling finishes and records galore. As the new season beckons, we take a look at the tournament in numbers.

2 - Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Gujarat, Karnataka and Mumbai have jointly won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy the most times, with two wins each. Can one of them sneak ahead and make it three?

2968 - Harpreet Singh Bhatia has scored 2968 runs from 100 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the most in the history of the tournament. The 35-year-old has represented Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Central Zone in the tournament.

128 - Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat leads the wicket-taking charts in the tournament with 128 wickets from 87 matches at an excellent average (17.70), economy rate (6.79) and strike rate (15.63), showcasing his consistency over the years.

151 - Tilak Varma holds the highest individual score in the tournament's history: 151. His electrifying knock came while playing for Hyderabad against Meghalaya at Rajkot on 23rd November 2024. He smashed 10 sixes and 14 fours in that record-breaking innings.

4-1-9-6 - Arshad Khan holds the best bowling figures in the tournament. He bowled a magnificent spell of 4-1-9-6 playing for Madhya Pradesh against Chandigarh in Kolkata on 6th December 2025.

3 - Shreyas Gopal and Lukman Meriwala have taken three five-wicket hauls each, the most in the tournament.

5 - Punjab's Abhishek Sharma and Jharkhand's Ishan Kishan have scored five centuries each, the most in the tournament. Abhishek Sharma possesses a highest score of 148 against Bengal, scored in the 2025-26 edition, while Ishan Kishan's highest is 113*, which he scored against Manipur in 2019 and against Tripura in 2025.

121 - In a format full of maximums, Nitish Rana, playing for Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, has hit 121 sixes, the most in the tournament. Abhishek Sharma is a close second with 119, while Ricky Bhui is not far away with 116.

17 - Punit Bisht went on a six-hitting spree playing for Meghalaya against Mizoram in Chennai on 13th January 2021, smashing 17 of them out of the park. It's a record for the most sixes in an innings in the tournament.

11 - Ashutosh Sharma went berserk and smashed a fifty off just 11 balls for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi on 17th October 2023. It's the fastest fifty in the history of the tournament. He hit eight sixes and one four on his way to a 12-ball 53.

28 - Gujarat's Urvil Patel and Punjab's Abhishek Sharma jointly hold the record for the fastest hundred in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, reaching the milestone in just 28 balls. Urvil smashed 113* off 35 balls, including seven fours and 12 sixes, against Tripura in Indore on 27th November 2024, while Abhishek Sharma hammered 106* off 29 balls, hitting 11 sixes and eight fours against Meghalaya in Rajkot on 5th December 2024.

349/5 - On 5th December 2024, the Baroda batters went berserk and powered their team to 349/5 against Sikkim in Indore, registering the highest total in the history of the tournament and men's T20s as well. Bhanu Pania led the way with a blistering 134* off 51 balls. Baroda shattered records that day.

263 - Baroda restricted Sikkim to 86/7 and registered a 263-run win in that same match in Indore, making it the largest margin of victory in terms of runs in the tournament.

37 - The records didn't stop in that Baroda-Sikkim match as Baroda smashed 37 sixes en route to 349/5. It's a record for the most sixes by a team in an innings in the tournament.

59 - Paras Dogra has taken a total of 59 catches in the tournament, the most by a non-wicketkeeper.

6 - Aditya Tare has had the most dismissals in an innings, with six catches playing for Mumbai against Madhya Pradesh in Indore on 24th February 2019.

2 - Karnataka's Shreyas Gopal has taken the most hat-tricks in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He achieved the feat twice: against Haryana in Cuttack in 2018/19 and against Baroda in Indore in 2024/25.

4 - Abhimanyu Mithun and Darshan Nalkande are the only two bowlers to take four wickets off four consecutive balls in the history of the tournament. Mithun achieved the feat playing for Karnataka against Haryana in Surat on 29th November 2019, while Darshan Nalkande did it for Vidarbha against Karnataka in Delhi on 20th November 2021.

508 - The Punjab vs Bengal match in the 2025-26 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy saw a staggering 508 runs scored in the match. It's the highest match aggregate in the history of the tournament. Abhishek Sharma's blistering 148 powered Punjab to 310/5, while Abhimanyu Easwaran's 66-ball 130* led Bengal's fight as they scored 198/9 at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on 30th November 2025.