Which team won the T20 cricket event, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-2023?

Correct — C. Mumbai won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23, beating Himachal Pradesh in the final.

The trophy is the BCCI's domestic T20 competition, played by state teams, so the winner has to be a state side and not an IPL franchise.

Himachal Pradesh were the beaten finalists that season, which is why their name is sitting in the list as bait. The key takes option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Vidarbha — Vidarbha won the Ranji Trophy in 2017-18 and 2018-19, which is what makes the name feel like a champion's. That is the first-class competition, not the T20 one.
• (b)
  Himanchal Pradesh — Himachal Pradesh reached the 2022-23 final and lost it. Runner-up, not winner — and the closest wrong answer on the paper.
• (d)
  Punjab — Punjab were not the 2022-23 champions. Every BCCI state association enters this tournament, so a plausible state name proves nothing about who lifted the trophy.

This item turns on which trophy belongs to which format.

The BCCI runs four main domestic competitions: the Ranji Trophy (first-class, multi-day), the Duleep Trophy (zonal first-class), the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over List A) and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20).

Attach the format to the name and half of these items answer themselves, because a T20 stem can never be answered with a first-class champion.

Key facts

• The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is the BCCI's domestic Twenty20 tournament for state teams.
• Mumbai beat Himachal Pradesh in the 2022-23 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.
• The Ranji Trophy is India's first-class domestic championship and the Vijay Hazare Trophy its 50-over one.

Common traps

• Answering a T20 stem with a Ranji Trophy champion such as Vidarbha
• Picking the losing finalist because its name is attached to the same final

No directly related past PYQ was found.