Kishan cracks second straight ton as Jharkhand scores 3rd win

Skipper Ishan Kishan smashed his second straight century, a breezy unbeaten 113 to power Jharkhand to a 121-run win against Manipur in a Group 'A' match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament here Sunday.

In other matches in the Group, Delhi beat Jammu and Kashmir by four wickets and Kerala edged out Andhra Pradesh by eight runs.

Kishan (113-62 balls, 12X4, 5X6) and Virat Singh (73 not out, 46b, 7X4, 3X6) were in a devastating form as the duo piled up 165 runs for the unfinished second wicket partnership that set the stage for Jharkhand's third consecutive win in the tournament.

Chasing the formidable target of 220, Manipur folded up for 98 for 9 in 20 overs with Yashpal Singh (40) alone offering some resistence as the Jharkhand bowlers emerged on top, capitalising on the good show by their batsmen.

Earlier, Manipur captain Kabrambam Homendro Meitei was left ruing his decision of electing to field as the Jharkhand batsmen went on a leather hunt from the word go.

Kishan and fellow opener Anand Singh (26, 12b, 4X4 1X6) gave their team a racy start punishing the bowlers mercilessly.

Twenty-year old Kishan, who had hit an unbeaten 100 in the match against Jammu and Kashmir, continued his impressive run as he along with Singh hoisted the team's 50 in the fifth over itself.

Singh fell against the run of play, spooning a catch in the cover region off Priyojit Singh after addition of four runs to the total.

Virat Singh then joined Kishan and the two southpaws went about demolishing the Manipur bowlers with a mix of blistering drives and lofted shots as the bowlers struggled.

After striking his 50 off 35 balls, Kishan mounted a savage attack, taking only 19 more balls to reach his ton.

The team's hundred came in the 11th over and the duo amassed 119 runs in the last nine overs, leaving the Manipur bowlers clueless.

Manipur was never in the hunt and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Yashpal Singh's 40 (31 balls, 6X4) was the only significant contribution as the Jharkhand bowlers kept a tight leash.

Medium-pacer Rahul Shukla finished with three wickets while left-arm spinner Anukul Roy took two wickets.

Jharkhand moved to the top of Group 'A' standings with its third straight win.

In another match, Delhi pulled off an exciting win against Jammu and Kashmir, reaching the target of 190 off the penultimate ball of the match.

Lalit Yadav (47 not out, 7X4, 1X6) and Pawan Negi (15, 7 balls 1X6) saw the team home after a brief stutter.

Earlier, J&K rode on half-centuries by Shubham Singh Pundir 68 and Jatin Wadhwan (57) to post 189 for 7.

Test paceman Ishant Sharma finished with figures of 1 for 42 in four overs while Subhodh Bhati took three wickets.

It was Delhi's second win after opening with a loss to Jharkhand.

Brief scores: Jharkhand 219 for 1 in overs (Ishan Kishan 113 not out, Virat Singh 73 not out, Anand Singh 26) beat Manipur 98 for 9 in 20 overs (Yashpal Singh 40, Rahul Shukla 3 for 14) by 121 runs.

Points: Jharkhand: 4, Manipur: 0.

Jammu & Kashmir 189 for 7 in 20 overs (Shubham Singh Pundir 68, Jatin Wadhwan 57, Irfan Pathan 26 not out, Subodh Bhati 3 for 26) lost to Delhi 191 for 6 in 19.5 overs (Lalit Yadav 47 not out, Anuj Rawat 45, Hiten Dalal 32) by four wickets.

Points: Delhi: 4, J&K: 0 Kerala 160 for 6 in 20 overs (Vishnu Vinod 70, Sachin Baby 38, K B Arun Karthick 31) beat Andhra 152 in 19.4 overs (D B Prahanth Kumar 57, Girinath Reddy 22, Sandeep Warrier 3 for 27, Basil Thampi 3 for 37) by eight runs.

Points: Kerala: 4, Andhra: 0.