With BCCI selectors watching, Ishan Kishan bludgeons 10 sixes, blasts 49-ball century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final

Ishan Kishan turned the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final into his personal comeback stage, blasting a 45-ball hundred for Jharkhand against Haryana at Pune’s MCA Stadium. In an innings that felt like it had an extra gear hidden somewhere, the left-handed batter reached his three figures with a one handed-six and then broke into a Pushpa-style celebration, equal parts swagger and statement.

Jharkhand had a relatively silent start after losing Virat Singh in the first over, but Kishan flipped the script so violently that Harya’s bowling plans looked outdated by the powerplay. When he finally fell, he had smashed 101 off 49 balls, with 10 sixes and six fours, leaving Jharkhand in a commanding position.

A final, a first, and a rare century club

Kishan’s hundred carried an extra layer of rarity. He became only the second batter to score a century in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final, a list previously featuring only Anmolpreet Singh. The context mattered too: this was Jharkhand’s first SMAT final, and the captain was doing the heavy lifting under the brightest domestic lights.

The momentum was powered by a brutal partnership with Kumar Kushagra. After the early wicket, the pair counter-attacked in waves, Kishan muscling the straight boundary and extra cover, Kushagra punishing anything fractionally short. They stitched a partnership of 177 runs and laid the platform for a mammoth total by the end of the 20 overs. Notably, Kushagra scored 81 runs off just 38 deliveries coming to bat at number three. Powered by the assault from the two batters and some late innings cameos, Jharkhand posted a mammoth 262 runs on the board, asking Haryana to chase down a record target in the final of the tournament.

The century will also help Ishan draw the attention of the selectors as RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were in the stands watching his destruction unfold, reported by a reporter from Times of India.

This century from Ishan Kishan also capped a tournament, where he has been operating like a man with a point to prove. Coming into the final, had already produced multiple high-impact knocks for Jharkhand, including an unbeaten 113 off 45 balls against Tripura earlier in the campaign. The final only amplified the narrative: a wicketkeeper-batter with international pedigree, out of the India mix for a stretch, now piling on runs in domestic cricket with the captain’s armband on.

For Haryana, the challenge was not just the score on the board, but the speed at which it arrived.