This day was recorded in golden letters for Jharkhand cricket. Jharkhand defeated Haryana by 69 runs in the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) to win this prestigious domestic T20 title for the first time. Captain Ishan Kishan became the hero of this historic victory, who not only changed the course of the match by scoring a stormy century, but also made many records in his name.
In the final played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Haryana won the toss and decided to bowl first. Initially, Jharkhand got a shock when Virat Singh got out in the very first over, but what happened after that was completely Ishan Kishan’s show.
Ishan Kishan’s storm
Captain Ishan Kishan along with Kumar Kushagra broke the back of Haryana bowlers. Ishaan completed his century in just 45 balls and was out after scoring 101 runs. His innings included 10 sixes and 6 fours. This was the most aggressive century scored in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final. Ishan Kishan became the second batsman to score a century in the final of this tournament and the first captain to achieve this feat. Apart from this, the record of hitting most sixes in the final was also registered in his name.
Kumar Kushagra also played an explosive inning of 81 runs in 38 balls. In the last overs, the fast batting of Anukul Roy (40 runs) and Robin Minz (31 runs not out) took Jharkhand to 262/3. Which is the biggest score of any T20 tournament final so far.
The bowlers did all the work
Haryana, which set out to chase the huge target of 264 runs, had a very poor start. Captain Ankit Kumar and Ashish Siwach were out without opening the account in the very first over. Yashvardhan Dalal definitely struggled by scoring 53 runs in 22 balls, but he did not get any support from the other end. In the middle overs, the tight bowling of Anukul Roy, Sushant Mishra and Bal Krishna completely dashed Haryana’s hopes. The entire Haryana team was all out for 193 runs and Jharkhand registered a historic win by 69 runs.
Memorable moment for Jharkhand
This victory is one of the biggest achievements in the domestic cricket history of Jharkhand. At the same time, Ishan Kishan, who has been out of the international team for a long time, has given a strong message to the selectors through this century. This inning of his not only shows the responsibility of a captain, but is also a proof of his brilliant comeback.
