Vijay Hazare Trophy: Ishan Kishan's 173 guides Jharkhand to big win

Invited to bat, Jharkhand posted a mammoth 422 for nine, shaped by Kishan's whirlwind knock, and then bundled out the opposition for a meagre 98 in 18.4 overs, with pacer Varun Aaron (6/37) doing the bulk of the damage.

Ishan Kishan scored 173 off 94 balls to anchor Jharkhand's big win over Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Saturday.

Skipper Ishan Kishan smashed a blistering 173 off just 94 balls to lead Jharkhand to a massive 324-run victory over Madhya Pradesh in an Elite Group B game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, here on Saturday.

Invited to bat, Jharkhand posted a mammoth 422 for nine, shaped by Kishan's whirlwind knock, and then bundled out the opposition for a meagre 98 in 18.4 overs, with pacer Varun Aaron (6/37) doing the bulk of the damage.

The 22-year-old left-handed Kishan single-handedly tore apart the MP attack, striking 19 fours and 11 sixes in his knock.

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After Jharkhand lost opener Utkarsh Singh (6) early, Kishan conjured up a 113-run second-wicket stand with Kumar Kushagra (26) to lay the foundation for a big score.

Kishan, who opened the innings, continued playing his shots before being caught by Shubham Sharma off Gaurav Yadav.

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Kishan reached his individual 50 in 42 balls, 100 in 74 balls and 150 in 86 balls.

Courtesy Kishan's heroics, Jharkhand posted the highest total by an Indian domestic side.

Virat Singh (68 off 49 balls; 5x4, 3x6) and Sumit Kumar (52 off 58 balls, 5x4) also played their parts to perfection as all the MP bowlers had an off day in the field. However, there was more action in store as all-rounder Anukul Roy smashed seven sixes and three fours in his 39-ball 72 and ensured that his team went past the 400-run mark.

Aaron wreaked havoc to leave Madya Pradesh tottering at 21 for five.

It was just a matter of time as they were eventually bundled out for 98 as their all top-order batsmen faltered.

STAT ATTACK Ishan Kishan’s 173 for Jharkhand versus Madhya Pradesh is the third-highest individual score in the Vijay Hazare Trophy history after Ajinkya Rahane (187 for Mumbai vs Maharashtra in Pune in 2007-08) and Wasim Jaffer (178* for Mumbai vs Baroda in Pune in 2007-08). Ishan Kishan also equalled the record of most dismissals in a List A game by an Indian wicketkeeper. His seven dismissals for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh were the same as  as Mahesh Rawat (for Railways vs MP in Nagpur in 2011-12) and Parthiv Patel (for West Zone vs Central Zone in Visakhapatnam in 2013-14). Jharkhand’s 422 for nine vs Madhya Pradesh is the highest total ever in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, overhauling MP’s 412 for six against Railways in 2009-10. Jharkhand’s 324-run margin while beating MP is the highest in List A cricket on Indian soil and joint second-highest in the world. Bihar’s 292-run win against Sikkim in 2018-19 was the previous highest in terms of margin of win in India. Yash Rathod’s 117 versus Andhra is the highest on List A debut for a Vidarbha batsman, beating Ranjit Paradkar’s 103 against MP in 2002-03.

 

Brief Scores: Jharkhand 422/9 (Ishan Kishan 173, Anukul Roy 72; Virat Singh 68; Gourav Yadav 4/73, Shubham Sharma 1/44) beat Madhya Pradesh 98 all out (Abhishek Bhandari 42; Venkatesh Iyer 23; Varun Aaron 6/37, Bal Krishna 2/8) by 324 runs.