SMAT 2025-26, Group D: Ishan Kishan, Rajkumar make merry; Rajasthan pips Karnataka by a run
With eight sixes screaming with intent — the most by any Tamil Nadu batter in a single innings — R. Rajkumar blasted an unbeaten 93 off just 43 balls (6×4, 8×6) to carry his team to a five-wicket win over Uttarakhand, chasing 165 in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite Group-D third-round clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium B-Ground in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The 32-year-old, who debuted for TN just this season and is all of three T20s old, was promoted to number 5 from his usual place lower down the order and repaid the team’s faith handsomely, taking the pacers and spinners to the cleaners in equal measure.
Rajkuimar wasn’t just batting — he was almost auditioning, with Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel and Mumbai Indians talent scout John Wright watching on.
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He dismantled the bowling with a catalogue of clean hits: two straight fours, an extra-cover six, and a cover-drive four in the same over off leg-spinner Himanshu Bisht; a six over cover, a reverse-hit four, and a straight six off left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith.
Off left-arm spinner Yuvraj Choudhary, he cleared the sightscreen and extra-cover for two more sixes. He wasn’t done — he hammered back-to-back long-off sixes and a straight four off pacer Akash Madhwal, and added another straight six off pacer Agnivesh Ayachi.
Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan in action against Tripura
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan in action against Tripura
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Century for Kishan
Earlier in the day, Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan smashed an unbeaten 113 (10×4, 8×6) off 50 balls to help his side chase down 183 against Tripura with eight wickets and 15 balls to spare. Off-spinner Viki Saha bore the maximum brunt of Kishan’s onslaught: a six and four through midwicket and a four through extra cover in one over before smoking back-to-back midwicket sixes in another.
Rajasthan edged home by a solitary run in a thriller. Karnataka, chasing 202, needed 14 off the last five balls when Vijaykumar Vyshak (9 n.o.) pulled left-arm seamer Akash Singh to deep square leg for a six. With seven required off three, R. Smaran (48 n.o.) picked up two successive doubles. But Akash Singh nailed a wide yorker on the final ball, and Smaran’s inside-edge could only trickle away for a single.
Published on Nov 30, 2025
