Kumar Kushagra

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66451/narayan-jagadeesan/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Narayan Jagadeesan</a>(Innings 8 | Runs 830 | Average 138.33 | SR 125.37 | 100s/50s 5/0)The only man on the planet to smash five consecutive centuries in List A cricket, Jagadeesan was at his absolute best in the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy. 114* vs Andhra, 107 vs Chhattisgarh, 168 vs Goa, 128 vs Haryana, and then that record-breaking 277 against Arunachal. You could argue that the highest individual List A score came against a side like Arunachal, but it&rsquo;s something that&rsquo;s never been done in the past. He failed against Saurashtra in the quarter-final, ending Tamil Nadu&rsquo;s campaign. The 26-year-old ended the competition as the leading run-scorer, making 170 runs more than the second-best on the list.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66584/ruturaj-gaikwad/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ruturaj Gaikwad</a>(Innings 5 | Runs 660 | Average 220 | SR 113.59 | 100s/50s 4/0)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670042967976-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Do we really need to tell you why Gaikwad is part of our XI!? The right-handed opener from Maharashtra featured in only five games and still ended up as the second-highest run-getter. He was the biggest reason why Maharashtra made it through to the final for the first time in their history. 124* vs Railways, 40 vs Bengal, 220* vs Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final, 168 vs Assam in the semi-final and 108 vs Saurashtra in the final - Gaikwad has been in a god-like form in the 50-over format. In fact, he has eight centuries in his last 10 VHT innings. Oh, did we mention Gaikwad also smoked seven sixes in an over?<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/68003/aryan-juyal/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aryan Juyal</a>(Innings 8 | Runs 494 | Average 70.57 | SR 82.33 | 100s/50s 2/2)The wicketkeeper-batter from Uttar Pradesh, who was part of India&rsquo;s 2018 Under-19 World Cup-winning squad, didn&rsquo;t just score runs in this competition but did that against quality opponents. He was the key reason why UP made it through to the quarter-finals, beating the likes of Gujarat, Hyderabad, Saurashtra and Mumbai. Juyal only scored 47 runs in his first three innings, but then came that hundred against Hyderabad and never looked back thereafter. He played a crucial knock of 31 in a close game against Saurashtra before slamming 82 in the preliminary quarter-final. However, his best knock came in a losing cause against Maharashtra in the quarter-final, in which he smacked 159 off 143 while chasing 330, where no other UP batter scored more than 33.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66939/riyan-parag/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Riyan Parag</a>(Runs 552 | Average 69 | SR 123.21 | Wickets 10 | Economy 5.57)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670042847974-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Assam had a dream run in this Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Parag played a massive role in that. Another player from the 2018 Under-19 batch, the 21-year-old hammered three centuries and one fifty in the competition and also scalped crucial wickets with his off-spin. It all started with a century against Rajasthan as the runs kept flowing off Parag&rsquo;s bat, but it was his knock against Jammu and Kashmir in the quarter-final that made him the talk of the town. Chasing 351, Parag clobbered 12 sixes and as many fours in his 116-ball 174 - the fastest 150 by an Indian in a List A knockout game. India are desperately looking for batters who can bowl, and Parag is someone who can rise through the ranks pretty quickly.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/58155/shreyas-gopal/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shreyas Gopal</a>(Runs 268 | Average 38.28 | SR 83.48 | Wickets 12 | Economy 4.59)You already have Parag, who can give you a few overs of off-spin and then having someone like Shreyas Gopal in your top-five is gold dust. The 29-year-old didn&rsquo;t score a single century but managed four 40-plus scores in eight innings. Against Rajasthan, the right-hander crafted 57 off 72 and helped Karnataka post a competitive score of 208 in Kolkata, which they went on to defend pretty easily. Even against Punjab in the quarter-final, Shreyas scored 42 to help his team chase down a tricky total of 235. On top of that, the leg spinner also took three three-wicket hauls and operated at a strike rate of 31.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/71309/azim-kazi/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Azim Kazi</a>(Innings 9 | Runs 421 | Average 52.62 | SR 127.19 | 100s/50s 1/3)At No.6, you need someone who operates at a good pace and is versatile enough to bat anywhere in the order, and that&rsquo;s what Azim Kazi did for Maharashtra. Amongst batters who scored at least 400 runs in this event, Kazi had the second-best strike rate after Rohan Kunnummal (131.84). While chasing 280 against Bengal, his 106 off 97 guided Maharashtra to a three-wicket. He then smoked 50* off 32 against Mumbai and also played a cameo in the final against Saurashtra - 37 off 33. Kazi is a left-hander and could easily be used as a floater, especially against left-arm spinners. &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/74097/kumar-kushagra/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kumar Kushagra (wk)</a>(Innings 5 | Runs 275 | Average 68.75 | SR 88.70 | 100s/50s 0/3)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670042805522-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A wicketkeeper-batter from Jharkhand making all the right noise in domestic cricket. Well, we have seen that twice in the past. MS Dhoni and Ishan Kishan have done that at the international level, and it&rsquo;s now 18-year-old Kushagra who is steadily starting to make a name for himself. Last season, he became the youngest batter in first-class history to hit a 250-plus score and now had a pretty fruitful VHT. The right-hander batted with a lot of calmness and managed a 40-plus score in each of his five innings. He started his season with a knock of 56 in a game where Jharkhand were bundled out for just 107 against Karnataka. Then came 41* vs Rajasthan, 49 vs Delhi, 55 vs Vidarbha and 74 vs Karnataka once again. He is also going to be the wicketkeeper of our side.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/59531/chirag-jani/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chirag Jani</a>(Runs 123 | Average 30.75 | SR 92.48 | Wickets 10 | Economy 4.34)Saurashtra won their second VHT title, and it was largely because of their formidable bowling unit. Hence, we have three of them in our XI. The first one is Chirag Jani at No. 8 - a right-arm seamer who is more than handy with the bat, which is exactly what you need for this position. The 33-year-old was consistent with the ball throughout the tournament and also stepped up with the bat in the knockouts. In the quarter-final against Tamil Nadu, Jani first slammed 52* off 31 deliveries and then claimed three wickets in the second innings. He conceded only 19 runs in his 10 overs in the semi-final against Karnataka before taking a hat-trick in the final. The right-hander also played an important knock of 30* and, alongside Sheldon Jackson, propelled Saurashtra past Maharashtra&rsquo;s total.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5448/jaydev-unadkat/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jaydev Unadkat (c)</a>(Innings 10 | Wickets 19 | Average 16.10 | Economy 3.33)<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1670042691959-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">One of the most honest toilers with the ball, Unadkat ended this competition as the leading wicket-taker. The left-arm seamer contributed in almost every single match and was brilliant across all three phases of the game. He didn&rsquo;t just take wickets at regular intervals but was also very economical. He dismantled Himachal Pradesh with a five-wicket haul but saved his best for the last. The 31-year-old was Man of the Match in the semi-final against Karnataka, dismissing the likes of R Samarth, Mayank Agarwal, Sharath BR and K Gowtham. In the final, Unadkat only took one wicket but conceded just 25 runs. His <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/a-cultural-shift-in-saurashtra-made-possible-by-a-collective-dream-1669987744373" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contribution in making Saurashtra a formidable outfit in Indian domestic cricket is beyond comprehension</a>, and he is the perfect man to lead our side.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/63431/dharmendrasinh-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dharmendrasinh Jadeja</a>(Innings 10 | Wickets 15 | Average 21.80 | Economy 3.82)The left-arm spinner from Saurashtra completes our spin attack. Jadeja is an experienced campaigner and one of the most consistent spinners in the domestic circuit. In this tournament, no other spinner picked up more wickets than him. Jadeja&rsquo;s best bowling figures - 7/10 - came against a side like Manipur but the 32-year-old was pretty good against Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as well. Gaikwad and Kazi took him on in the final but even then, he ended with figures of 0/43 in seven overs. Jadeja didn&rsquo;t have to do much with the bat, but he can surely chip in if and when needed.<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/67625/vasuki-koushik/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vasuki Koushik</a>(Innings 9 | Wickets 18 | Average 11.72 | Economy 2.70)The 30-year-old from Karnataka had a tournament to remember. The right-arm pacer delivered 78 overs and still ended up with a stunning economy rate of 2.7. He clearly had the best economy in the tournament (minimum 20 overs). Not just that, he was also the second-highest wicket-taker. With one four-wicket haul against Vidarbha and three three-wicket hauls against Jharkhand, Delhi and Sikkim, respectively, Koushik forced everyone to sit up and take notice.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Unsurprisingly, players from Saurashtra and Maharashtra take up most of the space in our best XI

Narayan Jagadeesan

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Riyan Parag

Aryan Juyal

Shreyas Gopal

Azim Kazi

Chirag Jani

Jaydev Unadkat

Dharmendrasinh Jadeja

Vasuki Koushik

Vijay Hazare Trophy, 2022

Saurashtra

Maharashtra

Tamil Nadu

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Assam

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022/23 - Team of the Tournament

Auqib Nabi&rsquo;s spirited spell helps J&amp;K topple KeralaKerala were on the backfoot early on in the contest, having missed several big names, due to their involvement with the national team. However, when Jammu and Kashmir&rsquo;s skipper Shubham Singh Pundir won the toss, it was a big psychological victory for the side from the valley. Despite not striking in the powerplay, J&amp;K bowlers maintained a good line and length, to curb the scoring rate.Once <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/70172/auqib-nabi/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Auqib Nabi&nbsp;</a>struck to remove Rahul, the J&amp;K bowlers began to bowl with their tails up. Abid Mushtaq struck next, before Sahil Lotra too joined the party as Kerala were reduced to 65/3. Mujtaba Yousuf struck a telling blow, removing Vishnu Vinod, leaving the middle and lower-order with a huge task.Useful contributions from Sijomon Joseph (32), Akhil Scaria (23) and Fanoos (13) took Kerala to a total of 174, after Vinoop Sheela Manoharan&rsquo;s gritty 62, setting the side from the valley a target of 175. Never in the run-chase did J&amp;K look like they were the second favourites, with a solid opening wicket partnership.Both Qamran Iqbal (51) and the in-form Shubham Khajuria (76) put on a stellar opening wicket stand (113 runs). While Khajuria&rsquo;s knock came to an end via a run-out, the middle-order ensured that there were not a whole lot of hiccups throughout the rest of the innings. With a stunning seven-wicket win, J&amp;K have moved on to the quarterfinal, moving from strength to strength.Brief Scores: Jammu and Kashmir 175/3 (Shubham Khajuria 76, Qamran Iqbal 51; Sijomon Joseph 2/19) beat Kerala 174 (Vinoop Sheela Manoharan 62, Sijomon Joseph 32; Auqib Nabi 4/39) by seven wicketsMavi, Juyal propel UP to a monumental win over MumbaiMumbai, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) champions were put into bat in the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground &lsquo;B&rsquo; in Motera. Three balls into the innings, Ankit Rajpoot bamboozled Divyaansh, putting Mumbai in a spot of bother. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66984/shivam-mavi/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shivam Mavi</a>, who had previously been on the receiving end of a Shaw-show, removed the opener cheaply, as Mumbai crashed to 15/2.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1669460349213-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Mumbai&rsquo;s middle-order stepped up, with Arman Jaffer (32), Ajinkya Rahane (26), <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/68279/hardik-tamore/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harddik Tamore</a> (53) and Shams Mulani (51), all making useful contributions to take the total to 220. Whilst all of them did get a start, none of the Mumbai middle-order batters managed to convert those strong starts into a substantial landmark score. Mavi starred with the ball, finishing with figures of 4/41.Uttar Pradesh openers showed the seasoned opponents exactly how to approach an innings, with some stellar show at the top of the order. Both Madhav Kaushik and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/68003/aryan-juyal/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aryan Juyal</a> played with fire and yet at the same time, did not give Mumbai the smallest of ropes to take advantage of. While Kaushik fell for 46, the 21-year-old wicket keeper scored 82, to put UP within touching distance.In the end, it was the partnership between skipper Karan Sharma and Priyam Garg, which put the final dagger into Mumbai&rsquo;s campaign, as UP progressed through to the quarterfinals via an eight-wicket win.Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 221/2 (Aryan Juyal 82, Madhav Kaushik 46; Divyaansh 1/24) beat Mumbai 220 all-out (Harddik Tamore 53, Shams Mulani 51; Shivam Mavi 4/41) by eight wicketsKarnataka survive scare to go past JharkhandPerhaps, the most thrilling out of the three pre-quarter-finals, Karnataka saw the back of Jharkhand by five wickets. Yet again, it was the winning side which was chasing, with Karnataka putting Jharkhand into batting first, making optimal use of the conditions. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/69915/vidhwath-kaverappa/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vidwath Kaverappa</a> took only three balls to strike, sending back Arnav Sinha packing.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1669460420747-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">One saw two, as Jharkhand were in bother at 1/2. Just as Virat Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem were building up a partnership, Ronit More struck to remove the Jharkhand skipper, to reduce them to 29/3. At 50/4, with no real hope, Jharkhand were just hoping for a miracle in the form of a partnership. Kumar Kushagra (74) and Anukul Roy (57) answered those calls, with a 115-run partnership.The trio of Vidwath, Ronit More and Venkatesh struck thrice, powering Karnataka to a comfortable position. Chasing a meagre total, Karnataka lost opener Mayank Agarwal (12) early on. But the partnership between Samarth (53) and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/67617/nikin-jose/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nikin Jose</a> (63), put Karnataka within touching distance. As that happened, a flurry of wickets once again tilted the encounter, as Karnataka lost three wickets.But Manoj Bhandage joined hands with Nikin, to ensure that there wasn&rsquo;t further hiccups, as Karnataka became the third side to go to the quarter-finals.Brief Scores: Karnataka 188/5 (Nikin Jose 63, Samarth 53; Rahul Shukla 2/44) beat Jharkhand 187 (Kumar Kushagra 74, Anukul Roy 57; Vidwath Kaverappa 3/20) by five wickets&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Jharkhand, Kerala and Mumbai are out of the competition

Auqib Nabi

Shubham Khajuria

Shivam Mavi

Hardik Tamore

Vidhwath Kaverappa

Nikin Jose

Jammu and Kashmir

Uttar Pradesh

Mumbai

Kerala

VHT 2022 | J&K, UP and Karnataka go through to the quarterfinals 

Jharkhand batters showed no mercy against a listless Nagaland attack as they continued their run-fest on day three by notching up 880 -- the fourth-highest team total in Ranji Trophy, on Monday.Resuming at their overnight score of 769/9 with Shahbaz Nadeem unbeaten on 123 and No. 11 Rahul Shukla on 29, there was no declaration coming as Jharkhand&#39;s last pair added 191 runs (from 323 balls) before being bowled out in 203.4 overs.&nbsp;The last partnership was also the highest in the entire innings as they made full use of the flat batting conditions and a below-par attack on offer from the Plate toppers.Defending their strategy, Jharkhand batting coach Satish Singh termed it a &quot;dead surface&quot; on offer at the Eden Gardens and said his side gave their lower order the much-needed batting practice ahead of their potential quarterfinal clash against Bengal.Left-arm spinner Imliwati Lemtur (4/179) finally broke the partnership when Nadeem tried a reverse sweep in vain to be trapped lbw.&nbsp;In reply, Nagaland were 130/4 with two days&#39; play remaining in the five-day knockout fixture as Jharkhand put one foot in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal slated post-IPL in June. Having kept the wickets for close to 204 overs across three days, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Chetan Bist showed no signs of fatigue.The 32-year-old former Rajasthan glovesman remained unbeaten on a dogged 46 from 123 balls, while Abu Nechim was on 13 at close on day three.During Jharkhand innings, left-arm spinner Nadeem hit 22 fours and two sixes for his career-best 177 (from 304 balls). Shukla, on the other hand, dealt mostly on sixes as he smacked the ball over the boundary six times, and hit seven fours en route to his 149-ball 85 not out.Jharkhand&#39;s score of 880 is the highest Ranji total at the turn of 21st century and fourth overall behind Hyderabad&#39;s 944/6 declared (vs Andhra Pradesh, 1993-94), Holkar&#39;s 912/8 declared (vs Mysore, 1945-46) and Tamil Nadu&#39;s 912/6 declared (vs Goa 1988-89).&quot;It was a flat wicket on offer. We just wanted to bat for practice, especially the lower order who doesn&#39;t get to bat much,&quot; Singh told PTI after the end of day three. &quot;It wouldn&#39;t be an easy match in the Ranji quarters, most likely Bengal as they are the toppers. Hopefully, it will come handy in the knockouts as they (lower order) could play 150-200 balls.&quot;Asked to rate the Nagaland attack, he said: &quot;It&#39;s a little difficult to judge their bowling on such a dead pitch. It&#39;s a five-day match, so we had a lot of time. We wanted to bat as a unit. I had told the batters whoever gets set, play as long as you can.&quot;If you see, most of the Plate matches played here were all big scores -- in the 600-700 range,&quot; he added.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Jharkhand's score of 880 is the highest Ranji Trophy total at the turn of the 21st century and the fourth overall 

Shahbaz Nadeem

Rahul Shukla

Imliwati Lemtur

Chetan Bist

Ranji Trophy, 2022

Nagaland

Jharkhand batters make mockery of Nagaland, post 880

In a pre-quarterfinal against Nagaland at the Eden Gardens, records tumbled for Jharkhand as they made a giant stride towards advancing to the next round of the Ranji Trophy.&nbsp;After being asked to bat first, Jharkhand posted a mammoth 769 for the loss of nine wickets against a struggling Nagaland side at the end of the second day&#39;s play in Kolkata.&nbsp;The 17-year-old, Kumar Kushagra made the most of the listless Nagaland attack to steer his side to a massive total after Jharkhand resumed the day at 402 for 5.Batting on an overnight score of 112, the teenager kept attacking the Nagaland bowlers to smash 266 runs off 269 deliveries studded with 37 boundaries and two massive hits over the fence in only his third first-class appearance.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">2⃣0⃣0⃣ up and going strong! 👏 👏 That moment when Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra brought up a double ton. 👍 👍 Follow the match ▶️ <a href="https://t.co/Ng12bS6Sw5">https://t.co/Ng12bS6Sw5</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RanjiTrophy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RanjiTrophy</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PQF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PQF</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JHAvNAG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JHAvNAG</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Paytm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Paytm</a> <a href="https://t.co/yhAbhqBiko">pic.twitter.com/yhAbhqBiko</a>&mdash; BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCIdomestic/status/1502889642944708616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>The teenager was part of the India U-19 team for the 2020 South Africa tour and got to his double hundred with a boundary off Lemtur just before lunch to complete the milestone in 213 deliveries.Jharkhand were also propelled by the valuable contribution of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem as he scored his career-best knock of unbeaten 123, with 14 boundaries and a solitary six. He added 166 runs for the seventh wicket with Kushagra after batter Anukul Roy got out for 59.Kense finally gave the breakthrough as he dismissed Kushagra and Sushant Mishra (0) in four balls, giving Nagaland a temporary respite.After Kushagra&#39;s departure, Nadeem held the centre stage with number 11 Rahul Shukla (29 not out) en route to his second first-class century.Nagaland employed seven bowlers, with the spin duo of Imliwati Lemtur and Khrievitso Kense returning with three wickets each, while Shrikant Mundhe, Chopise Hopongkyu and Rongsen Jonathan claimed one each.Brief Scores:Jharkhand: 769 for 9 in 177 overs (Kumar Kushagra 266, Shahbaz Nadeem 123 not out, Virat Singh 107; Khrievitso Lemtur 3/138, Imliwati Lemtur 3/161) vs Nagaland.(With inputs from PTI)Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Centuries from Virat Singh, Shahbaz Nadeem and Kumar Kushagra's double ton propels Jharkhand to their highest first-class score

Virat Singh

Kushagra's double ton powers Jharkhand to their record total

kumar kushagra

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022/23 - Team of the Tournament

VHT 2022 | J&K, UP and Karnataka go through to the quarterfinals

Jharkhand batters make mockery of Nagaland, post 880

Kushagra's double ton powers Jharkhand to their record total