Tamil Nadu emerged winners in the country's inaugural domestic Twenty20 tournament, for the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beating formidable Punjab by two wickets in the final, played under lights, at the Brabourne stadium on Saturday.

Following a fine job by their bowlers, things were superbly set for Tamil Nadu, but they almost made a hash of a simple run-chase before Yo Mahesh performed the rescue act.

Needing 10 runs to win off the final over, which was bowled by Yuvraj Singh, tail-ender Yo Mahesh produced a six through the mid-wicket region off the second ball to change the complexion of the game and guide Tamil Nadu home with two balls to spare.

Batting first after winning the toss, Punjab made an extremely confident start, with openers Ravneet Ricky (24) and left-handed Karan Goel (26) putting on 43 in just six overs. However, thereafter, they lost their way as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Here credit should go to the Tamil Nadu bowlers, who came back strongly after an early onslaught and restricted Punjab to 134 for 8.

Crucial run-outs of key players Yuvraj Singh and skipper Pankaj Dharmani in the middle of their innings prevented Punjab from maintaining the momentum.

R Prasanna was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 12, while new ball bowler C Ganapathy also chipped in with two wickets.

Tamil Nadu, who were extremely disappointing in the field, made a bright start to their reply, with openers S Anirudha (19) and Y Devendran (24) rattling off 42 runs in just four overs.

At the half-way point of their innings, when skipper Dinesh Karthick (19) and left-handed S Vidyut (27) who shared a 35-run stand for the third wicket, were at the crease, Tamil Nadu looked in complete control of the run-chase.

However, the final which witnessed fluctuating fortunes, saw another twist with a major collapse ensuing as Tamil Nadu explicably slid from 89 for 3 to 125 for 8, losing three wickets in the penultimate over bowled by off-spinner Karan Goel (4 for 13).

The winners, Tamil Nadu were presented the trophy by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

Scores: Punjab 134 for 8 in 20 overs (Karan Goel 26, Ravneet Ricky 24, R Prasanna 2 for 12, C Ganapathy 2 for 34) lost to Tamil Nadu 135 for 8 in 19.4 overs (S Vidyut 27, Y Devendran 24, Karan Goel 4 for 13, VRV Singh 2 for 32).