It was a moment of incredible relief for Ishan Kishan as he guided Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali title on Thursday, December 18. Playing in front of the national selectors, Kishan hit a belligerent hundred that blew away the opposition at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

Kishan, who had been dropped from the national team setup after seeking a mental health break during the transition months of 2023–24, made a massive statement towards a comeback on Thursday. He capped off his Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign with a sensational hundred. Kishan scored 101 off just 49 balls, taking Jharkhand to a massive total of 262 runs in the summit clash.

SMAT Final: Jharkhand vs Haryana Highlights

The highest-ever total in the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy meant that Haryana’s hopes of winning their maiden title were effectively snatched away within the first half of the match.

Alongside Kishan, young Kumar Kushagra and Robin Minz played outstanding innings of their own. Both batters provided able support in the making of a remarkable victory for Jharkhand.

In reply, Haryana showed isolated uprisings with the bat but were never truly in contention to chase down the target of 263. This was despite the match initially appearing to be in their favour.

SMAT: Kishan, Kushagra Dismantle Haryana

Haryana won a crucial toss in Pune, which seemed to set them up for a perfect game. Dew was expected to play a major role in the match. Winning the toss meant that conditions were expected to heavily favour the chasing team.

Haryana also made a strong start with the ball, picking up the wicket of opener Virat Singh early. As the ball swung in the powerplay, Ishan Kishan was put under significant pressure and struggled to get a fluent start to his innings.

However, after the first couple of overs, Kishan and Kumar Kushagra settled in. From there, they tore into the Haryana bowling attack. Playing without Yuzvendra Chahal, who was ruled out of the game due to dengue, Haryana lost control after a couple of sixes from Kishan and began feeding him wayward deliveries.

Kishan and Kushagra added 177 runs for the second wicket. This became the biggest partnership in the history of a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final and laid the foundation for a massive total.

After the dismissal of the duo in the 15th and 16th overs respectively, the onus fell on Robin Minz and Anukul Roy to push Jharkhand to a winning total. And deliver they did.

A sensational partnership of 75 runs off just 29 balls took Jharkhand to the highest-ever total in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final history. That effort eventually guided them to a dominant title-winning performance.

Haryana Lose Steam Early in Chase

The only way for Haryana to have any impact in the second half of the match was to get off the blocks early. However, that fire was doused in the first over itself, when pacer Vikash Singh took two wickets in the very first over of the game.

Haryana had a short moment of fire when Nishant Sindhu and Yashvardhan Dalal added quickfire 67 off just 27 balls. Just when Haryana’s innings started to threaten Jharkhand, Ishan introduced spinner Anukul Roy, who removed both batters in his very first over.

The double blow was too much to handle for Haryana, and from 103/3, they were recuced to 136/7, and eventually were bowled out for 193 runs in 18.3 overs.

– Ends