Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 15-16: Jharkhand Group Stage Review

Its been a good season for Jharkhand. Different format, yet the same result. Jharkhand marched into the second stage with ease in the national T20 tournament.

Game 1 : Tripura [146/7(20)] lost to Jharkhand [150/1(18.3)] by 9 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Tripura 0 

Lineup: Virat Singh, Ishank Jaggi, Saurabh Tiwary, Kumar Deobrat, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vikash Singh, Ankit Dabas, Monu Kumar, Prakash Seet, Kaushal Singh, Sumit Kumar 

T20 debuts: Ankit Dabas, Monu Kumar, Sumit Kumar 

Key Performers: Nadeem (3/18), Virat Singh (65), Jaggi (75*) 

Game 2: Rajasthan [120/9(20)] lost to Jharkhand [121/2(19.5)] by 8 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Rajasthan 0 

Key Performers: Vikash Singh (4/12), Saurabh Tiwary (61* & 3 Catches), Sumit Kumar (38*) 

Game 3: Jharkhand [104/9(20)] lost to Punjab [105/3(17.3)] by 7 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 0, Punjab 4 

Team Changes: Out – Saurabh Tiwary, In – Anand Singh 

Key Performers: Virat Singh (41), Prakash Seet (2/31) 

Game 4: Jharkhand [179/4(20)] beat Jammu & Kashmir [103/7(20) by 76 runs 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Jammu & Kashmir 0

Team Changes: Out – Anand Singh, Monu Kumar, Ankit Dabas; In – Saurabh Tiwary, Shasheem Rathour, Sonu Singh 

T20 Debut: Shasheem Rathour, Sonu Singh 

Key Performers: Rathour (50 & 1/17 on debut), Tiwary (57*), Sonu Singh (2/16), Nadeem (2/16) 

Jharkhand beat J&K across all 3 formats in the 2015-16 season 

Game 5: Saurashtra [128/5(20)] lost to Jharkhand [132/3(19.3)] by 7 wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Saurashtra 0 

Team Changes: Out – Ankit Dabas, In – Saurabh Tiwary 

Key Performers: Sonu Singh (2/23), Rathour (1/18 & 27), Virat Singh (41) 

Game 6: Kerala [169/6(20)] lost to Jharkhand [174/4(19)] by 6 Wickets 

Points: Jharkhand 4, Kerala 0 

Team Changes: Out- Virat Singh, In – Ankit Dabas 

Key Performers: Nadeem (3/31), Jaggi (45), Kaushal Singh (33) 

Season Stats: 

Top Scorer: Saurabh Tiwary 174 @174 

Most Wickets: 9 @15.67
Player Count: 14

Jharkhand qualified for the quarter-finals finishing joint top of the group with Kerala. And alongwith Vidarbha are the only 2 dometic teams to reach the second stage in each of the 3 national competitions. Thats quite an achievement, specially given the absence of some key players on national duties.

Coming Up Next: Syed Mustaq Ali Super League where Jharkhand are clubbed with Uttar Pradesh, Delhi & Gujarat, with the group toppers reaching the finals. 

Fixtures: 

15-Jan-16: Jharkhand vs Uttar Pradesh 

16-Jan-16: Jharkhand vs Delhi 

18-Jan-16: Jhakrhand vs Gujarat
20-Jan-16: Finals