Vijay Hazare trophy: Ishan Kishan blasts 33-ball century, powers Jharkhand to 412

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is making a strong case for inclusion in India’s squad for the upcoming New Zealand ODI series after smashing a 33-ball century for Jharkhand against Karnataka in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Kishan’s explosive innings is now the second-fastest List A century by an Indian, falling just one delivery short of Bihar captain Sakibul Gani’s 32-ball ton against Arunachal Pradesh, which was also scored earlier on the same day.

This comes on the back of a stellar week for Kishan, who earned a recall to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup shortly after leading Jharkhand to its first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. His recent run in domestic T20s has been remarkable, amassing 517 runs in the tournament, including a match-winning century in the final against Haryana.

In the match against Karnataka, Kishan finished with 125 runs off just 39 balls, hitting seven fours and 14 sixes at a strike rate of 320.51.

Jharkhand, batting first after Karnataka won the toss and chose to field, had a shaky start. Opener Utkarsh Singh fell for just eight, and Shubh Sharma was dismissed early for 15 by Shreyas Gopal. Shikhar Mohan added 44 before falling to Abhilash Shetty in the 24th over.

From there, Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra rebuilt the innings, putting together a 129-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Kushagra was dismissed by Gopal for 63. Singh soon followed, scoring 88 off 68 balls.

Kishan then took over, scoring a whirlwind 33-ball century to power Jharkhand to a total of 412 for 9 in their 50 overs, leaving Karnataka with a massive target to chase.