Watch: Jharkhand winning moment for first SMAT title

Jharkhand created history on Thursday night (December 18) by winning their first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) after thrashing Haryana by 69 runs in the high-scoring 2025-26 Final. 

Haryana chose to field first after winning the toss, while Jharkhand scored a mammoth 262/3 in 20 overs. In reply, Haryana were all out for 193 runs in 18.3 overs. 

Jharkhand innings: Ishan Kishan slammed century and Kumar Kushagra scored 81

Although Jharkhand opener Virat Singh was dismissed for only two runs, another opener and skipper Ishan Kishan and the no.3 batter Kumar Kushagra set the tone of the game with a 177-run partnership for the second wicket. While the captain Ishan scored 101 off 49 balls with six fours and 10 sixes, Kumar scored 81 off 38 balls with eight fours and five sixes. Later, Anukul Roy (40 not out off 20 balls) and Robin Minz (31 not out `14 balls) also added crucial runs to stretch the total to 260+. 

Watch: Bangladesh cricket team dance with viral sound track of Bollywood movie 'Dhurandhar'

Haryana were never in chase battle

In reply, Haryana lost two wickets in the first over, as they were always far away from the target, despite some fightbacks in the middle-order batting. While Yashvardhan Dalal scored 53 off 22 balls, Nishant Sindhu (31 off 15 balls) and Samant Jakhar (38 off 17 balls) also added some crucial runs, which were not enough for Haryana.

Among Jharkhand bowlers, Sushant Mishra (3/27) and Bal Krishna (3/38) got three wickets each, while Vikash Singh (2/30) and Anukul Roy (2/42) picked up two wickets each. 

It was Jharkhand's second title in Indian domestic cricket. In the 2010-11 edition, they secured their first title by winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the List A format competition.