Ishan Kishan Shines with Century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Final

Kishan's Remarkable Performance

In a thrilling final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 held at the MCA Stadium in Pune, Jharkhand's captain Ishan Kishan scored a spectacular century against Haryana on Thursday. This achievement made him only the second player to score a hundred in a SMAT final, following an early wicket loss when Virat Singh was dismissed by Anshul Kamboj in the first over.

Record-Breaking Innings

Ishan Kishan, along with Kumar Kushagra, launched an impressive attack on the bowling lineup. Kishan reached his fifty in just 24 balls and completed his sixth T20 century off 45 balls, hitting a six off Kamboj to mark the milestone. This performance tied him with Abhishek Sharma for the most centuries in SMAT history, achieving his fifth overall. Notably, this was Kishan's second century of the tournament, following an unbeaten 113 against Tripura last month. His innings concluded at 101 runs off 49 balls when he was bowled by Sumit Kumar in the 15th over, featuring 10 sixes and six fours.

Historic Achievement

Kishan's century made him the first captain to score a hundred in a SMAT final, following Amolpreet Singh's 113 against Baroda in the 2023-24 season. He also set a new record for the most sixes in a final innings of the tournament.

Outstanding Tournament Performance

The Indian wicketkeeper-batter, who has been out of favor recently, has shown exceptional form this T20 domestic season, leading the run charts with 517 runs from 10 innings at an impressive strike rate of 197.32. Kishan became the fourth player to surpass 500 runs in a single SMAT season, joining the ranks of Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, and RP Kadam.

Jharkhand's Record Total

Kumar Kushagra also contributed significantly with a rapid 81 runs off 38 balls, helping Jharkhand achieve a staggering total of 262/3 in 20 overs against Haryana. This score is now the highest ever recorded in a T20 tournament final, surpassing Italy's previous record of 244 against Romania in the T20 World Cup 2026 Europe Qualifier final.

Ishan Kishan's International Context

Ishan Kishan has not played for the Indian team since 2023, with his last T20I appearance against Australia in Guwahati in November 2023, where he was dismissed for a duck. In that series, he scored a total of 110 runs across three matches, averaging 36.67.