Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy 2019: Jharkhand Review

Overall, it was a decent campaign for Jharkhand topping the Group stages and then starting well in the Super League but faltering in the end. They certainly missed the services of their star players Ishan Kishan and Shahbaz Nadeem in the later stages of the tournament. 

Group Stage 

Game 1: Jharkhand 158/4 (20) beat Delhi 155/5 (20) by 3 runs 

Key Performers: Virat Singh 70*(49), Shahbaz Nadeem 2/26, Rahul Shukla 2/35 

T20 Debut: Anukul Roy 

Game 2: Jammu & Kashmir 168/9 (20) lost to Jharkhand 170/1 (16.4) by 9 wickets 

Key Performers: Rahul Shukla 5/36, Monu Kumar 2/31, Ishan Kishan 100* (55) 

Game 3: Jharkhand 219/1 (20) beat Manipur 98/9 (20) by 121 runs 

Key Performers: Ishan Kishan 113* (62), Virat Singh 73*(46), Utkarsh Singh 3/7, Rahul Shukla 3/14, Anukul Roy 2/17 

T20 Debut: Utkarsh Singh 

Game 4: Jharkhand 219/1 (20) beat Manipur 98/9 (20) by 121 runs 

Key Performers: Ishan Kishan 113* (62), Virat Singh 73*(46), Utkarsh Singh 3/7, Rahul Shukla 3/14, Anukul Roy 2/17 

T20 Debut: Utkarsh Singh

Game 4: Jharkhand 197/3 (20) beat Nagaland 143/3 (20) by 55 runs 

Key Performers: Ishan Kishan 52 (39), Kumar Deobrat 69* (32), Anukul Roy 47* (23) 

Game 5: Andhra 179/10 (19.5) beat Jharkhand 176/10 (19.5) by 3 runs 

Key Performers: Shahbaz Nadeem 3/26, Varun Aaron 3/49, Rahul Shukla 2/33, Saurabh Tiwary 54 (32) 

Game 6: Kerala 176/6 (20) lost to Jharkhand 180/5 (19.1) by 5 wickets 

Key Performers: Rahul Shukla 2/40, Vikash Singh 2/34, Saurabh Tiwary 50* (24), Anand Singh 72 (47) 

Jharkhand qualified for Super League topping Group A. 

Super League 

Game 1: Jharkhand 148/7 (18) beat Gujarat 147/8 (18) by 1 run 

Key Performers: Anand Singh 45 (36) & 2/26, Ishan Kishan 39 (19), Utkarsh Singh 2/22, Vikash Singh 2/25, Anukul Roy 2/25 

T20 Debut: Supriyo Chakroborty 

Game 2: Railways 135/8 (20) lost to Jharkhand 136/5 (19) by 5 wickets 

Key Performers: Rahul Shukla 2/19, Anand Singh 53 (39), Virat Singh 50* (40) 

Game 3: Jharkhand 126/9 (20) lost to Bengal 127/2 (13) by 8 wickets 

Key Performers: Varun Aaron 2/24 

Game 4: Maharashtra 153/4 (20) beat Jharkhand 139/8 (20) by 14 runs 

Key Performers: Varun Aaron 2/22 

Jharkhand finished 3rd in the Super League rounds and were eliminated. 

Season Stats 

Top Scorer: 

1. Virat Singh 339 @56.5 
2. Ishan Kishan 333 @55.5 
3. Anand Singh 316 @31.6 

Highest Score – Ishan Kishan 113* vs Manipur 

Most Wickets 

1. Rahul Shukla 16 @17.63 
2. Varun Aaron 9 @ 15.89 
3. Utkarsh Singh 7 @ 13 

Best Figures – Rahul Shukla 5/36 vs Jammu & Kashmir 

Player Count: 17 

Debutantes: 3 

Captain Count: 2 (Ishan Kishan, Anand Singh) 

Thus, we come to an end of Jharkhand’s 2018-19 season. The team has been performing consistently well, but just coming short. Hopefully, the elusive final appearance and trophy drought would end next season! 

Till next year!

Vijay Hazare Trophy 18-19: Jharkhand Review

Jharkhand had a good run in the tournament, reaching the semi-finals on the back of an unbeated run and then being pipped by Delhi by 2 wickets in a close encounter. 

Ishan Kishan led the side. Interestingly last year’s key performer Ishank Jaggi was dropped for failing to turn up for yo-yo test! There was also some confusion on Dhoni’s participation. Meanwhile, Shanbaz Nadeem recorded world-record bowling figures of 8/10 in a List A game! And there was a controversial finish involving VJD method and bad light as well! 

Here is a short summary of Jharkhand’s run. 

Game 1: Jharkhand vs Haryana – Match Abandoned due to rain 

Game 2: Rajasthan 73/10 (28.3) lost to Jharkhand 76/3 (14.3) by 7 wickets. 

Key Performers: Shahbaz Nadeem 8/10 in 10 overs – Best ever Bowling Figures in List A Cricket! Anukul Roy 2/23. 

Game 3: Assam 221/9 (50) lost to Jharkhand 222/2 (31) by 8 wickets 

Key Performers: Ishan Kishan 139 (91), Anand Singh 58, Nadeem 3/47, Utkarsh Singh 2/29. 

Trivia: Assam had Romario Sharma playing for them! 

Game 4: Jharkhand 307/8 (50) beat Tamil Nadu 299/10 (49.5) by 8 runs 

Key Performers: Ishan Kishan 85, Anand Singh 52, Saurabh Tiwary 54, Anukul Roy 3/55, Monu Kumar 2/50 

Trivia: Shahrukh Khan plays for Tamil Nadu! 

Game 5: Jharkhand 221/8 (50) beat Jammu & Kashmir 148/10 (42.2) by 73 runs 

Key Performers: Anukul Roy 96* off 72 batting at No.8, Shahbaz Nadeem 5/17 

Game 6: Bengal 267/8 (50) lost to Jharkhand 264/9 (49) by 2 run (VJD Method) 

Key Performers: Varun Aaron 3/48, Anand Singh 118, Ishan Kishan 56 

Game 7: Jharkhand vs Tripura Abandoned due to rain 

Game 8: Gujarat 107/10 (25) lost to Jharkhand 108/5 (21.4) by 5 wickets. Match reduced to 25 overs each. 

Key Performers: Varun Aaron 3/21, Ishan Kishan 64 

Game 9: Jharkhand 290/10 (50) beat Services 265/10 (47.4) by 25 runs 

Key Performers: Kumar Deobrat 88, Anukul Roy 58 & 4/53, Varun Aaron 4/55 

Quarter-Finals: Maharashtra 181/10 (42.2) lost to Jharkhand 127/2 (32.2/34) by 8 wickets via VJD method 

Key Performers: Anukul Roy 4/32, Rahul Shukla 3/35, Shasheem Rathour 53* 

Semi-Finals: Jharkhand 199/10 (48.5) lost to Delhi 200/8 (49.4) by 2 wickets 

Key Performers: Virat Singh 71, Anand Singh 36 & 3/39 

Jharkhand were just not able to finish it off as Delhi’s 9th wicket pair added 51 to win the game. 

Overall, a good run for the Jharkhand squad. Results are there to see in the Deodhar Trophy squads. After being ignored during the IPL Varun Aaron has forced himself back in the reckoning. Shahbaz Nadeem has belatedly got his share of the spotlight. Ishan Kishan is being talked about as an India keeping option. These three have got into the Deodhar Trophy squads. Meanwhile Anukul Roy has also lived up to his billing Samastipur ka Ravindra Jadeja with a sterling all-round displays and will surely be in the reckoning soon for a zonal call-up.  

Season Stats 

Highest Scorers 

1. Ishan Kishan – 405 @ 45.00 
2. Anand Singh – 321 @ 35.67 
3. Anukul Roy 219 @ 73.00 

Most Wickets 

1. Shahbaz Nadeem – 24 @ 13.04 
2. Varun Aaron – 18 @ 18.06 
3. Anukul Roy – 15 @ 20.00 

Highest Score – Ishan Kishan 139 vs Assam 

Best Bowling – Shahbaz Nadeem – 8/10 vs Rajasthan (New List A World Record) 

Players Used – 14

Ranji Trophy 17-18: Jharkhand vs Jammu & Kashmir

Match Summary: Jammu & Kashmir (376 & 265/9d) beat Jharkhand (292/9d & 243) by 106 runs
Points: Jammu & Kashmir 6, Jharkhand 0

After the highs of last season, we reach the lows! Jharkhand lost to Jammu & Kashmir by 106 runs, thus ending all hopes for a knock-out berth. But it was heartening to see them play for a win on 4th day when they could have easily settled for a draw. There were good opening partnerships in both innings but not much to follow after that. Have to give credit to the team for the audacious attempt at the 4th innings chase. But they were simply outplayed by the J&K team.

Too much chopping and changing going on in the team!

Highlights

• Playing XI:Changes - too many of them!
• In: Utkarsh Singh, Anand Singh, Kumar Deobrat (all in their first appearance of the season), Sunny Gupta
• Out: Kaushal Singh, Ashish Kumar, Shasheem Rathour, Sumit Kumar (who was the star in the previous game!)
• Utkarsh Singh makes his first-class debut and first taste of senior cricket. Had been part of India U19s earlier this year. Decent performance on debut!
• Ishan Kishan crossed the landmark of 2000 FC runs in his 31st game.

Season Stats

• Top Scorer: Ishan Kishan - 427 @47.44
• Top Wicket-taker: Sunny Gupta - 17 @25.47
• Player Count: 20
• Captain Count: 2

Points Tally - 8 after 5 games. Drop down to 5th and out of contention of the Quarter-finals.

Coming Up Next
Jharkhand take a break in the next round before taking on defending champions Gujarat in the last round. They can play spoilport for others though!

Ranji Trophy 15-16: Jharkhand vs Jammu & Kashmir

Match Summary: Jharkhand (551/8d) drew with Jammu & Kashmir (309 & 265/4 (f/o))

Points: Jharkhand 3, Jammu & Kashmir 1

Finally, the Jharkhand batting lineup came good with solid all-round batting display. They racked up their biggest score of the season, managed to impose a follow-on against J&K. And 2 quick 2nd innings wickets at the end of Day 3 made one believe that an innings victory with bonus points was waiting. But that was not to be as a fine rear-guard action from the J&K batsmen ensured that the match ended in a draw.

Game Notes

• Shahbaz Nadeem remained the captain. 
• Team Changes: Ishan Kishan, Jaskaran Singh and Kaushal Singh returned while out went Prakash Munda, Sumit Kumar and Sunny Gupta. 
• All season not a single century, now two of them came in the same innings.
• Ishan Kishan scored his maiden first class century in his 10th game. This kid is certainly one to watch out for.
• Anand Singh also playing his 10th first class game got his maiden half-century and proceeded to convert it into a big one.
• Kaushal Singh recorded his best innings figures with a 4-wicket haul in the first innings.
• Nadeem vs Parvez Rasool. Two similar players in competition for an India A slot. Nadeem was better with the ball, Rasool better with the bat.
• Ishank Jaggi got more runs (93) in one innings than his previous 4 matches combined (87).

Season Stats

Top Scorer: Saurabh Tiwary 289 @ 36.13

Most Wickets: Shahbaz Nadeem 23 @ 21.48
Player Count: 20 from 4 Games
Captain Count: 3 from 4 Games

Points Tally - 10 after 5 games. Moved up one place 6th. Now, lying 11 points behind Himachal Pradesh who are currently in place for the second knock-out spot from the Group. With 3 rounds left, it is still mathematically possible but getting more and more improbable.

Coming Up Next - Away game against Tripura, who are at the bottom of the table. A good chance to take full points and keep the knock-out hopes alive.

Ranji Trophy 15-16: Jharkhand vs Kerala

Match Summary: Jharkhand (202 & 262) beat Kerala (148 & 183) by 133 runs

Points: Jharkhand 6, Kerala 0

A win at the third attempt. After two consecutive losses, the season seemed to be going downhill for Jharkhand but they recovered handsomely to record a big win away in Kerala. Put into bat after losing the toss, Jharkhand's batting continued its collapsing ways by being shot out for 202. The highlight was Saurabh Tiwary's defiant knock of 75 despite retiring hurt midway through the innings. Prakash Munda playing his first game of the season got a half-century but their was hardly any other contribution. The bowlers though hit back to secure a 54 run lead with Varun Aaron taking a 5 wicket haul. Second time around the batting was slightly better with solid contributions all round boosting the score. Kerala were set a target of 317 were knocked out for 183 with Nadeem taking a seven-wicket haul. 

Game Notes

• The faltering batting lead to quite a few changes from the previous game. Out went Rameez Nemat, Virat Singh, Kumar Deobrat, Samar Quadri and Vinayak Vikram. Jaskaran Singh came back after missing the previous game, while Prakash Munda, Shiv Gautam, Anand Singh and Ashish Kumar got their first game of the season.
• Shiv Gautam bagged a pair in his first game of the season.

Highlights

Career best 7-wicket haul for Shahbaz Nadeem in the second innings.

Season Stats

Top Scorer: Saurabh Tiwary 207 @ 41.40

Most Wickets: Shahbaz Nadeem 13 @ 17.31
Player Count: 18 from 3 Games

Points Tally - 6 after 3 games. Moved up to 5th spot. Lying 7 points behind Saurashtra who are currently in place for the second knock-out spot from the Group.

Coming Up Next - Jharkhand sit out the next round of games. And then they play their first home game of the season against Goa who are 1 place and 4 points ahead of them in the group.