The penultimate round of the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) group stages saw several one-sided outings with a few cliffhangers. With the teams making one final push to advance to the Super League, many individuals stepped up big.Incidentally, the tournament's trend of bowlers holding the upper hand after a host of centuries in the first half of the group stage continued in Round Six. Furthermore, it was an opportunity for lesser-known names to stake a claim for a sport in one of the IPL franchises in the 2026 auction on December 16.That said, it was another round that saw most of the established IPL and Indian stars shine brightly with bat and ball.On that note, let us look at the top five performers of Round Six of the 2025-26 SMAT.#5 Anshul KambojOne of the best matches of the sixth round saw Haryana edge out Baroda in a crucial Group C clash. The game had Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on their feet as pacer Anshul Kamboj starred with the bat.After Haryana scored a competitive 174 in their 20 overs, Kamboj picked up two vital wickets inside the powerplay. However, it was his dismissal of the dangerous Jitesh Sharma on 33 that tilted the contest in Haryana's favor.Kamboj finished with outstanding figures of 4/23 in four overs, helping Haryana win a fourth game in six matches by eight runs.#4 Mukul ChoudharyAs exciting as watching superstar players thrive on the biggest stages, tournaments like SMAT find their real value when youngsters become stars. One such instance was Rajasthan's Mukul Choudhary stunning Delhi with his lower-order heroics.Chasing a formidable 176 for victory, Rajasthan were reeling 98/4 in the 13th over and looking to be on course for their first defeat in the tournament. However, Mukul produced one of the most incredible finishes with a 26-ball 62*, including seven maximums, under pressure.His whirlwind knock helped Rajasthan overcome the consistent loss of wickets at the other end and pull off a final-ball win by three wickets.#3 Arshad KhanA six-wicket haul is a performance to behold in any format at all levels of cricket. However, to pick up six wickets while conceding under 10 runs in the T20 format is nothing short of otherworldly.Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Arshad Khan achieved just that in his match-winning spell of bowling against Chandigarh. The 27-year-old blew away Chandigarh's top order with three wickets inside the first four overs.Arshad returned to pick up another three wickets to erase any comeback hopes for the opposition, restricting them to an underwhelming 134/8 in 20 overs. Madhya Pradesh comfortably chased down the target following Arshad's heroics to make it a fourth win in six matches.#2 Abhishek SharmaPunjab's Abhishek Sharma continued his incredible 2025-26 SMAT campaign with another all-round performance in the side's penultimate Group C game against Services. The 25-year-old smashed a 34-ball 62 with the willow, helping Punjab post a massive 233/6 in 20 overs.With the ball, Abhishek snuffed any hopes for Services by picking up two wickets in the first three overs of the run chase. The youngster finished with brilliant figures of 2/8 in his two overs, helping Punjab win by 73 runs.The victory helped Punjab jump to the top spot in the Group C standings as Abhishek joins the Indian side for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.#1 Mridul SurrochIt is not often that the top performer from a 16-match round comes from the losing side. However, Himachal Pradesh skipper Mridul Surroch produced an all-round performance for the ages in the side's Group C clash against Gujarat.At just 22, the youngster walked into bat with Himachal Pradesh tottering at 26/3 in the fourth over. Mridul scored a blistering 48-ball 88 to help reach a seemingly above-par 193/8 in 20 overs.He followed his batting heroics with an excellent spell of off-spin bowling, finishing with figures of 3/45 in four overs. Unfortunately, Himachal Pradesh could not pull off a win to cap off Mridul's memorable outing, losing by one wicket off the final ball of the game.