Skipper Ishan Kishan's blistering knock of 139 (91 ball), studded with 12 fours and nine sixes, powered Jharkhand to an eight-wicket win over Assam in a Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group 'C' match in Chennai on Monday.
The talented southpaw toyed with the rival bowling and smashed the ball to all parts of the MA Chidambaram Stadium as his team reached the target of 222 in just 31 overs to boost its net run-rate.
Earlier, sent in to bat, Assam lost wickets at regular intervals to finish at 221 for 9 in 50 overs. Though three of its batsmen got into the 40s, none was able to push for a bigger score as the Jharkhand bowlers kept things under control.
Shahbaz Nadeem, who took a world List 'A' record 8 for 10 against Rajasthan last week, captured three wickets for 47. Sibshankar Roy was the top scorer for Assam with 46. Kishan and fellow opener Anand Singh (58) were on the attack from the word go and took the score to 100 in the 17th over.
Kishan went on the rampage and reached his 100 off 74 balls as Jharkhand seized control. His assault left the Assam bowlers clueless as runs came thick and fast. The left-hander hit the ball cleanly and was not afraid to go ariel and smacked nine sixes. He fell 18 runs short of the target before Virat Singh (15 not out) and Saurabh Tiwary (5 not out) took the team home.
Meanwhile, Services upset Haryana at TI Murugapa ground by five wickets, riding on Nakul Verma's knock of 95. Rahul Singh Gahlaut contributed 61 as the team overhauled Haryana's score of 257 for 8 in 50 overs. In another match, Gujarat downed Tripura by 74 runs, restricting its rival to 138 for 9 after making 212 for 6 in the quota of 50 overs.
Rujul Bhatt was the top-scorer with 62 while Piyush Chawala's 4 for 21 turned the match Gujarat's way.
Brief scores
Assam 221 for 9 in 50 overs (Sibshankar Roy 46, Shahbaz Nadeem 3 for 47) lost to Jharkhand 222 for 2 in 31 overs (Ishan Kishan 139, Anand Singh 58).
Points: Jharkhand: 4; Assam: 0.
Gujarat 212 for 6 in 50 overs (Rujul Bhatt 62, Priyank Panchal 39) beat Tripura 138 for 9 in 50 overs (J R Banik 57, Piyush Chawla 4 for 21).
Points: Gujarat: 4; Tripura: 0.
Haryana 257 for 8 in 50 overs (C K Bishnoi 88 not out, Pramod Chandila 57, Divesh Gurdev Pathania 5 for 42) lost to Services 260 for 5 in 47.3 overs (Nakul Verma 95, Rahul Singh Gahlaut 61, R K Tewatia 2 for 53).
Points: Services: 4, Haryana: 0.
