Haryana captain Ankit Kumar smashed a 27-ball-57.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K.V.S. GIRI
Jharkhand’s winning streak was halted on Tuesday as it lost to Andhra by nine runs in the last match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League stage. But that did not stop Ishan Kishan’s men from reaching their maiden final in the T20 tournament.
Enjoying a superior net run rate (NRR) of + 0.221, Jharkhand finished atop Group-B to set up a summit clash with Haryana, who stunned Hyderabad with a 124-run win at the MCA Stadium.
Coming on the back of two successive wins, Hyderabad would have fancied its chances. But as the frontline bowlers faltered on a flat deck, Haryana made optimum use of it.
Riding on captain Ankit Kumar’s 27-ball-57 and Samant Jakhar’s 22-ball-60, Haryana put up 246 for seven, before off-spinner Amit Rana (3 for 14) and seamer Ishant Bhardwaj, who claimed a couple of wickets, helped it bundle out Hyderabad for 122.
After conceding a massive total, Hyderabad had to score at least 195 runs to make the summit clash, but only Buddhi Rahul (37) fought it out as Haryana came from behind to earn a ticket to the final.
In a Group-B fixture, Nitish Kumar’s 22-ball-45 and two for 32 was not enough to take Andhra to the final as Jharkhand stayed ahead on NRR.
Chasing a target of 204, Virat Singh (77, 40b, 4×4, 7×6) and Ishan Kishan (35, 18b, 5×4, 2×6) added 88 runs for the opening partnership. However, things went downhill thereafter as none of the middle-order batters could deliver.
Defending champion Mumbai crashed out despite defeating Rajasthan by three wickets. Sarfaraz Khan brought up his second consecutive fifty, off just 15 balls, with four national selectors in attendance.
En route his 22-ball-73, Sarfaraz spared none of the Rajasthan bowlers, and forged a 111-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane (72 n.o., 41b, 7×4, 3×6) for the second wicket. To better its NRR, Mumbai had to chase down Rajasthan’s total in 10.2 overs, but it could reach home with only 11 balls to spare.
Madhya Pradesh was knocked out by Punjab despite Venkatesh Iyer’s 43-ball-70.
The scores: Madhya Pradesh 225/8 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 70, Aniket Verma 31, Gurnoor Brar 3/45) lost to Punjab 226/8 in 19.1 overs (Harnoor Singh 64, Anmolpreet Singh 38, Salil Arora 50, Ramandeep Singh 35 n.o., Shivam Shukla 3/39).
Rajasthan 216/4 in 20 overs (Ramnivas Golada 48, Deepak Hooda 51, Mahipal Lomror 39, Mukul Choudhary 54 n.o.) lost to Mumbai 217/7 in 18.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 72 n.o., Sarfaraz Khan 73).
Andhra 203/7 in 20 overs (K.S. Bharat 35, Ashwin Hebbar 30, Nitish Kumar 45) bt Jharkhand 194/8 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 35, Virat Singh 77).
Haryana 246/7 in 20 overs (Ankit Kumar 57, Samant Jakhar 60, Parth Vats 45) bt Hyderabad 122 in 16.1 overs (Buddhi Rahul 37, Amit Rana 3/14).
Published – December 16, 2025 10:06 pm IST