Jharkhand scripted history on Thursday, December 18, winning their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beating Haryana by 69 runs in the finals at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Captain Ishan Kishan led from the front, smacking a blistering century that set the momentum for the East Zone side to keep up with the momentum and register a staggering win in the summit clash.
Batting first, Kishan, who is currently out of the Indian side in all three formats, rose to the occasion and played some phenomenal cricket in the middle. Jharkhand suffered an early blow, losing the wicket of Virat Singh in the first over of the game, but that didn’t change the approach of the team, who wreaked havoc in the middle.
Kishan went on to hit 101 runs off 49 balls at a strike rate of 206.12, which will definitely send a message to the selectors. RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were present in the stands and following this knock in the SMAT final, Kishan is very likely to return to the T20I scheme of things. If not now, maybe soon after the T20 World Cup.
Kumar Kushagra played important knock too
Batting at three, Kumar Kushagra played an impactful knock as well. The 21-year-old hit 81 runs off 38 balls, while Kolkata Knight Riders’ Anukul Roy played a cameo of unbeaten 40 runs off 20 balls. Mumbai Indians’ Robin Minz added an unbeaten 31 runs off 14 balls as Jharkhand posted 262 runs in the first innings.
Haryana, on the other hand, gave their all in the middle but chasing 263 runs in a cup final is never an easy task. They tried to play an aggressive brand of cricket, which was the need of the hour, but lost wickets at regular intervals and ended up suffering a major defeat.
Notably, for Jharkhand, Sushant Mishra and Bal Krishna starred with the ball, claiming three wickets each. Bikas Singh and Anukul picked two each as Jharkhand registered a monumental win in the SMAT final.