Haryana hammer Hyderabad to set up title clash with Jharkhand

Haryana hammered Hyderabad by 124 runs to go level with them on points and book a place in the final by finishing on top of the Group B table in the Super League.

Haryana, Hyderabad and Mumbai all finished on eight points each but Haryana topped the table and the table-toppers from the two groups went through to the final.

For their second game in a row Haryana posted a total above 230 but this time they ended on the winning side, with a massive victory for a net-run-rate boost. They were given a rapid start by captain Ankit Kumar's 57 off 27 that was studded with six sixes. Ankit's last nine scores in the tournament now read 57, 89, 60, 46, 6, 44, 78*, 9 and 51. Haryana stuttered briefly after an opening stand of 81 in 7.4 overs before No. 6 Samant Jakhar and No. 7 Parth Vats combined to hammer 81 runs in just 32 balls to power them from 135 for 5 to 216 for 6. Jakhar smashed eight sixes in his 60 off 22 and Vats struck 45 off 19 with another three sixes. They posted a massive 246 for 7 while Mohammed Siraj finished with 4-0-37-1.

Hyderabad were 16 for 2 early and finished the powerplay on 58 for 3 before stuttering to 99 for 6. They never really recovered as offspinner Amit Rana took 3 for 14 from three overs and Anshul Kamboj finished with 3.1-0-16-2.

An all-round performance from Nitish Kumar Reddy helped Andhra snap Jharkhand's nine-game winning streak in the tournament. But Jharkhand topped Group B with eight points, the same as Andhra, and a better net run rate to go through to the final.

Reddy's brisk 22-ball 45 with the bat in Ambi lifted Andhra to 203 for 7, before his 2 for 32 with the ball slowed Jharkhand's chase enough to secure a nine-run victory.

Jharkhand appeared well-placed early, racing to an 88-run opening stand in just 6.5 overs through Ishan Kishan (35) and Virat Singh, who was third out for 77. The breakthrough came when S Raju removed Kishan.

Virat continued to find the boundary but Reddy's second spell proved decisive in halting their momentum. Kumar Kushagra returned a catch to Reddy in the tenth over, Tripurana Vijay then dismissed Virat in the 13th, and Reddy struck again in the 15th over to remove Robin Minz.

Despite those blows, Jharkhand still needed only 40 runs from the final five overs, but Saurabh Kumar then turned the game around. He conceded just three runs and dismissed Anukul Roy in the 16th over, followed by another tight over in the 19th that cost five runs and saw him rattle Rajandeep Singh's stumps. With 18 to defend in the final over, Reddy allowed only three runs from the first half of the over, and Bal Krishna's last-ball six proved inconsequential.

Sarfaraz Khan hit 73 off just 22 balls as Mumbai mowed down a 200-plus total in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the second game in a row. Rajasthan posted 216, but Mumbai hunted it down with three wickets and 11 balls left. Ajinkya Rahane, who added 111 off just 38 balls with Sarfaraz for the second wicket, finished unbeaten on 72 from 41 deliveries.

Sarfaraz's 64 off 25 balls had helped Mumbai chase 235 against Hyderabad in the previous game, and he followed it up with another aggressive, boundary-laden display. Against Rajasthan, Sarfaraz smacked six fours and seven sixes to lay the foundation of the chase. Atharva Ankolekar, at No. 8, thumped 26 off just nine balls to provide the finishing kick, even as Manav Suthar finished with 3 for 23 for Rajasthan.

But the fact that Mumbai had a huge total to chase was down to half-centuries from Mukul Choudhary (54*) and Deepak Hooda (51). Hooda had a 103-run stand with Ramnivas Golada, who smashed 48 off 29 balls. While both batters fell in succession, Choudhary and Mahipal Lomror then added 89 in 44 deliveries for the fourth wicket.

Lomror's 39 featured four sixes, and Choudhary ensured Rajasthan ended with a huge score. Tushar Deshpande leaked 54 runs in four overs.

In a dead-rubber in Pune, Punjab ended their two-match losing streak with a two-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh. Half-centuries from Harnoor Singh and Salil Arora, followed by a late assault from Ramandeep Singh, who remained unbeaten on 35 from 21 balls, powered Punjab to a successful chase of 226 with five balls to spare.

They were jolted early by the loss of captain Prabhsimran Singh, but Anmolpreet Singh and Harnoor counter-attacked by adding 50 runs in just 18 balls before Anmolpreet was dismissed by Mangesh Yadav for a 14-ball 38. Harnoor continued the onslaught, striking 64 off 36 balls with five fours and three sixes, and added 73 for the fourth wicket with Arora. Punjab required 45 from the final five overs when Arora, who scored a fifty off 29 balls, fell in the 16th over. A mini-collapse followed as four wickets fell for 20 runs, but Ramandeep held his nerve to see Punjab home.

The chase marked the seventh instance of Punjab crossing the 200-run mark in the tournament this season - the most by any side. No other team has managed more than four 200-plus totals in a single edition of SMAT, with Jharkhand also on four in 2025-26.

Earlier, Venkatesh Iyer top-scored for MP with 70 off 43 balls. Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Aniket Verma and Mangesh chipped in with handy cameos to lift them to 225 for 8, but it ultimately proved insufficient. Fast bowler Gurnoor Brar was the standout bowler, finishing with 3 for 45.