Jharkhand taste SMAT glory courtesy Kishan and Kushagra as they win their maiden title by comfortably beating Haryana.
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 the cherry on top was a spectacular match-winning 49-ball 101 in the final, when Jharkhand defeated Haryana by 69 runs in Pune to win their first T20 championship.
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.
In response, Yashvardhan Dalal and Nishant Sindhu played blinkers to keep Haryana’s chances alive even though they lost their top three during 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 were ultimately knocked out for 193.
When Anshul Kamboj had an approaching Virat Singh toe-end a lofted smash to mid-on in the opening over, Haryana had a perfect start. After that, Haryana had nightmares throughout the remainder of the powerplay and the game. Jharkhand quickly reached 69 for 1 as Kishan hit six sixes during the powerplay, extending the half-century partnership with Kushagra in just 27 balls.
Kishan had an incredible variety of strokes. As Kamboj discovered when he was forcefully dragged in front of square, he grasped onto everything short against pace. Ishant Bhardwaj got tonked down the ground after he bowled full due to nervousness.
Kushagra entered the final having missed his two most recent knocks, 8 and 17 against Madhya Pradesh and Andhra, respectively, and was a major factor in Jharkhand’s run to the final thanks to three consecutive half-centuries.
However, he was eager to take the attack to the bowlers from the very first ball. 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 imperious pulls and immaculate backswings. His half-century off just 29 balls was increased with a lovely little assist over fine leg to a short ball.
Jharkhand would have hoped for a smooth ride at 3 for 2 in the second over. However, left-hander Yashvardhan made a half-century off 19 balls by using his long levers to unleash an incredible burst of powerplay runs. Before Anukul changed up with his left-arm spin and holed out in the deep, Sindhu matched him stroke for stroke with six fours in his striking 31.
Toss wasn’t as important as it would have been in a day-night game because of a 4.30pm start, which significantly reduced the impact of dew and allowed Anukul to gain some purchase from the surface.