With a strong 2025–2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign that saw him finish as the tournament’s top run scorer and most prolific six-hitter, Ishan Kishan forced his way back into the T20I conversation. But Jharkhand’s incredible match-winning 49-ball 101 in the final, which saw them defeat Haryana by 69 runs in Pune to claim their first T20 championship, was the cherry on top.
Jharkhand hammered their way to 262 for 3, the highest total ever in a T20 competition final, when they were put to bat. A frenetic 177-run second-wicket partnership between Kishan and Kumar Kushagra, who hammered a 38-ball 81, served as the foundation for the assault. After the historic partnership provided Haryana with their little respite throughout an innings that included an incredible 20 sixes, they were dismissed five balls apart.
Yashvardhan Dalal and Nishant Sindhu played brilliantly to keep Haryana’s chances alive despite losing their top three in the powerplay. However, the match quickly devolved into little more than a formality when they were both dismissed, leaving them at 104 for 5 at the midway point. In the penultimate over, Haryana was finally knocked out for 193.
Kishan blitz powerplay
In the first over, Anshul Kamboj had an advancing Virat Singh toe-end a lofted hit to mid-on, giving Haryana the perfect start. After that, Haryana had nightmares throughout the remainder of the powerplay and the game. As Jharkhand rushed to 69 for 1, Kishan hit six sixes in the powerplay, extending the half-century partnership with Kushagra off just 27 balls.
Kishan had an incredible variety of strokes. Like Kamboj discovered when he was obnoxiously dragged in front of the plaza, he grabbed onto anything short against pace. Ishant Bhardwaj, a rookie, was tonked down the ground after bowling full.
Haryana switched to spin early in an attempt to stir things up. Amit Rana, who had taken 3 for 14 in Haryana’s semi-final victory over Hyderabad just two nights prior, was under pressure to stop the run-torrent as Yuzvendra Chahal was absent due to chikungunya and dengue.
Rana pitched up to Kishan in his first over on Thursday and was tonked down the ground twice; his three overs would ultimately cost 48. Kishan surpassed Salil Arora’s record of most sixes in the tournament (28) thanks to his six on the powerplay alone.
Kushagra attends the celebration
Having missed his two most previous knocks, by 8 and 17 against Madhya Pradesh and Andhra, respectively, Kushagra was one of the main causes of Jharkhand’s run to the final thanks to three consecutive half-centuries.
However, he was eager to assault the bowlers from the very first delivery. In his first over, the seventh of the innings, he blasted one of Haryana’s best seamers, Sumit Kumar, for three fours to make sure Jharkhand never experienced a post-powerplay slowdown. The first two overs for Sumit would cost 25.
Kushagra was aesthetically attractive in his cover drives and fast to pick length early to access spaces behind square on both sides, whilst Kishan was all about clean backswings and imperious pulls. He reached his half-century off just 29 balls with a lovely little aid over fine leg to a short ball.
Anukul and Minz provide the grandstand finish.
When Kishan top-edged Sumit, Haryana had a chance to limit the damage. Sumit nearly sprinted over 30 yards towards square leg after outpacing Kishan with the bumper, but he was unable to hold onto the return grab. Kishan will shortly reach his century off 47 balls before dying at 71 off 35.
Thanks to the dependable Anukul Roy and Robin Minz, Jharkhand managed to maintain momentum and achieve a spectacular finish despite losing both Kishan and Kushagra. Minz hit three sixes in his 14-ball 31 not out as the two added 75 off the final 29 balls, while Anukul, whose amazing 58-ball 95 against Karnataka earlier in the group stage set the campaign up for Jharkhand, muscled 40 off 20 balls.
Sindhu and Yashvardhan momentarily flicker
Jharkhand would have anticipated for a smooth sailing when they were 3 for 2 in the second over. However, the left-hander Yashvardhan made a half-century off of 19 balls after unleashing a spectacular powerplay run burst with his long levers. Before Anukul’s switch to his left-arm spin left him holed out in the deep, Sindhu matched him stroke for stroke, hitting six fours in his impressive 31.
Anukul’s ability to gain some surface purchase was mostly due to a 4.30pm start, which significantly reduced the impact of dew and made sure that toss wasn’t as significant a factor as it would have been in a day-night match. Sushant Mishra, a left-arm seamer, also made an impression despite Anukul, hitting hard-lengths and working hard to end with 3 for 27. The winning moment came when 27-year-old Bal Krishna, who also claimed three wickets, removed fast bowler Bhardwaj, setting off wild celebrations in the Jharkhand camp.
India
