Jharkhand are taking on Haryana in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) final at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. Although it was Haryana who won the toss and opted to field first, Jharkhand have managed to put on a solid first innings total- 262/3- with the help of blistering innings from captain Ishan Kishan and Kumar Kushagra.
Haryana get a wicket in the first over itself
Initially it seemed liked the perfect decision to bowl as Anshul Kamboj got rid of Virat Singh in the first over itself for a score of 2 runs. However, after that it was all about the Jharkhand batters. Jharkhand captain Kishan, once seen as an integral part of India’s limited-overs setup, led from the front and Kushagra who joined him after coming in to bat at number 3 and seemed to match him shot for shot in an excellent display of batsmanship.
Eventually, it was Kishan who fell first but only after scoring a 49-ball 101, a knock that comprised of 6 fours and 10 sixes. It was a record-equalling effort from Kishan who now jointly holds the feat of most centuries in SMAT (5) along with Abhishek Sharma. The left-handed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star fell prey to Sumit Kumar but by the time he departed, he had already laid the foundation of a fierce Jharkhand score.
Kushagra falls short of a century
Kushagra’s innings did not pale in comparison to Kishan by any stretch of the imagination. However, the right-handed batter who plies his trade for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) fell short of his hundred, falling in the 16th over with Samant Jakhar taking his wicket. Anukul Roy (40* off 20) and Robin Minz (30* off 14) helped Jharkhand finish strong.
Poor show from Haryana bowlers
It wasn’t the best of shows from the Haryana bowlers with none of them managing sustained periods of disciplined bowling. It didn’t help that the opposition batters were in sublime form. Sumit did get a wicket but went for 41 runs in his 4 overs. Samant conceded 62 runs in his 4 overs while Anshul was also far from economical, going for 51 runs. Ishant Bhardwaj leaked 40 runs off his 4 overs and that was the best economy of any Haryana bowler on the day.