Ishan Kishan, Sumit Kumar star as Jharkhand crush Madhya Pradesh by 324 runs
Ishan Kishan, Sumit Kumar, Anukul Roy, and Varun Aaron blew away Madhya Pradesh in Jharkhand's Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 tournament opener at the Holkar stadium.
Captain Ishan Kishan provided a flying start for the Jharkhand cricket team. He smacked 173 runs off 94 deliveries to take the team's total to 240/3 in 27.4 overs. Sumit Kumar and Anukul Roy then took over as both Jharkhand players scored fifties to take the score past 400.
Madhya Pradesh were faced with a 423-run target in 50 overs. The home side lost wickets at regular intervals. Opener Abhishek Bhandari ran out of partners after Varun Aaron, Bal Krishna, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Rahul Shukla destroyed the Madhya Pradesh batting lineup. Bhandari was unbeaten at 42 when Jharkhand sealed a 324-run victory in Indore.
Varun Aaron was the pick of the bowlers for Jharkhand with figures of 6/37 in just 5.4 overs. Shahbaz Nadeem bowled a tidy spell of 1/5 in four overs, while Bal Krishna and Rahul Shukla accounted for the remaining three wickets.
Sumit Kumar, Virat Singh, and Anukul Roy's fifties ensure Ishan Kishan's hard work does not go in vain
Ishan Kishan's century gave Jharkhand a ton of momentum in the first half of their innings. However, without Sumit Kumar, Virat Singh, and Anukul Roy's half-centuries, Jharkhand might not have managed a 400+ total. After Virat Singh's departure, Jharkhand were 294/4 in 36.4 overs.
Number five batsman Sumit Kumar played a top-quality knock of 52 runs from 58 deliveries while Anukul Roy hit some big shots from the other end. Roy finished with 72 runs off 39 deliveries. Sumit built a 117-run sixth-wicket partnership with Anukul before Gaurav Yadav dismissed him in the 48th over.
It will be interesting to see if the quartet of Ishan Kishan, Sumit Kumar, Virat Singh, and Anukul Roy can continue its top form in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy fixtures.