India, Dec. 25 -- One-day cricket is the least favoured of formats in international cricket nowadays. Only during the build-up to the ICC World Cup do the cricket boards take it seriously. This is not the year of the 50-over World Cup either. The next big event is the T20 World Cup in February 2026 and the India team for it was named just last week.

Still in the midst of this all, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the biggest buzz in domestic cricket was created not by a T20 or a five-day game, but by a List-A 50-over game.

More so because the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final, the premier domestic competition for T20 cricket, was played last week in front of a near empty stadium in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Gahunje,...