Kumar Kushagra blasted an unbeaten 42-ball 86 as Jharkhand beat Punjab by six wickets in the highest-ever run chase in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history. Chasing a mammoth target of 236, Jharkhand got there with 11 deliveries to spare with Kushagra at the other end as the winning six was struck.
Jharkhand's efforts overshadowed a historic one-man show from Punjab's Salil Arora who slammed a 39-ball ton and finished unbeaten on 125 off 45 balls. His marathon assault singlehandedly took Punjab to a commanding total of 235 on a flat surface in Pune. No other Punjab batter got to 30 as Arora controlled the innings from start to finish.
For Jharkhand, Rajandeep Singh (1-30) and Anukul Roy (0-25) conceded just 55 off seven overs between them and in such a high-scoring game, their spells proved critical. Arora still managed to belt the other bowlers and it meant that Jharkhand needed a special show to gun the target down.
Skipper Ishan Kishan led from the front with a 23-ball 47 that gave his side the perfect start to the tall chase. While he couldn't convert the start, Kushagra carried on after having put on a 60-run stand with his skipper. The Gujarat Titans star put on a 66-run stand with Roy (37 off 17) who doubled up after the strong show with the ball.
Kushagra then had an unbroken 71-run stand with Pankaj Kumar (39* off 18) as Jharkhand zoomed to victory.
