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, in Indore on Saturday.
Kishan, who has done well for his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, served a timely reminder to the national selectors before the white-ball series against England, which comprises five T20s in Ahmedabad and three ODIs in Pune.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At Emerald Heights International School Ground: Punjab 288/4 (Gurkeerat Mann 139 not out, Prabhsimran Singh 71; Baba Aparajith 1/15, R Sai Kishore 1/31) lost to Tamil Nadu 289/4 (N Jagadeesan 101, Baba Aparajith 88; Shahrukh Khan 55 not out; Siddharth Kaul 2/47, Karan Kalia 1/44) by six wickets.
At SS Cricket Commune: Vidarbha 331/6 (Yash Rathod 117, Faiz Fazal 100; C Stephen 3/66, Girinath Reddy 2/79) lost to Andhra 332/7 (Ricky Bhui 101 not out, Hanuma Vihari 65; Darshan Nalkande 3/76, Aditya Thakare 2/76) by three wickets.
