Ishan Kishan's statement hundred powers Jharkhand to maiden SMAT title

Pune, Dec 18 (PTI) Out-of-favour India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan made a compelling case for a T20I recall with a belligerent hundred to power Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title with a 69-run victory over Haryana here on Thursday.

Kishan went on a six-hitting spree, smashing 10 maximums en route to a breathtaking 49-ball 101, as Jharkhand piled up an imposing 262 for 3.

Jharkhand bowlers, led by medium pacer Anukul Roy, then struck twice in his opening over while his team applied the brakes with regular wickets to bowl out Haryana for 193, despite a fighting half-century from wicketkeeper-batter Yashvardhan Dalal (53).

Roy also also smashed a 20-ball 40.

Jharkhand thus became the 12th state to win the country's premier T20 domestic tournament.

Invited to bat first, the Jharkhand skipper stitched a decisive 177-run partnership for the second wicket with Kumar Kushagra, who played the perfect foil with a rapid 81 off 38 deliveries to keep the pressure firmly on the Haryana bowlers.

The century was Kishan's second of the tournament. The 27-year-old has been in scintillating form throughout the competition and topped the run charts with 517 runs from 10 innings at a staggering strike rate of 197.32.

The left-hander's rich vein of form comes at an opportune time, with the national selectors set to convene soon to pick India's T20I squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup.

Kishan treated the Haryana attack with complete disdain, also striking eight fours, and brought up his hundred with a stylish one-handed six over extra cover.

He was eventually clean bowled by Sumit Kumar in the 15th over, with Kushagra departing in the following over.

Late cameos from Anukul and Robin Minz (31 off 14) ensured Jharkhand finished on a high, posting a total that proved well beyond Haryana's reach.

Haryana batters needed to go hammer and tongs to overhaul the daunting target, but their chase began in disastrous fashion as they lost skipper Ankit Kumar (0) and Ashish Siwach (0) in quick succession to slump to 2/1.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dalal attempted to steady the innings, first adding 34 runs with opener Arsh Ranga (17) and then forging a 67-run partnership with Nishant Sindhu (31).

However, Anukul turned the match decisively in Jharkhand's favour by removing both set batters in the same over, derailing Haryana's chase.

Brief Score: Jharkhand 262/3 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 101, Kumar Kushagra 89; Sumit Kumar 1/41) Haryana 193 all out in 18.3 overs (Yashvardhan Dalal 53, Samant Jakhar 38; Sushant Mishra 3/21) PTI APA APA AH AH