Cricketer Ishan Kishan (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) NEW DELHI: Ishan Kishan played a captain’s knock of the highest order, smashing a breathtaking 101 off just 49 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 final on Thursday to power Jharkhand to a dominant side against Haryana. The left-hander’s onslaught of six fours and ten towering sixes underlined his red-hot form and capped off a tournament in which he finished as the top scorer.
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Jharkhand, who went into bat after Haryana won the toss, lost Virat Singh for two early, but that early wicket hardly slowed down Kishan. The Jharkhand skipper was in ferocious mood from the start and dismantled the Haryana bowling attack with a mixture of sheer power and inventive strokeplay. Kishan dictated the terms, whether it was clearing the ropes straight down the ground or picking the gaps with ease.He found an able ally in Kumar Kushagra, who played a perfect supporting role with an explosive 81 off 38 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes at a strike rate of over 213. The duo stitched together an unbeaten 177-run partnership that completely leveled Haryana’s plans and ensured that Jharkhand reached a daunting total well before the full quota of overs.Kishan reached his century in just 45 balls, a milestone that was greeted with roars from the stands as he picked up the bat and acknowledged that it had been a sensational tournament for him. With this knock, Kishan finished the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2025 as the top-scorer scoring 517 runs in 10 innings at an amazing average of 57.44 and a strike tally close to 200. The century in the final was his second of the season and served as a reminder of his ability to dominate domestic attacks at the highest level. And perhaps his performance in the SMAT caught the eye of Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and other selectors ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
