Kushagra's double ton powers Jharkhand to their record total

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. 

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's play in Kolkata. 

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. 

2⃣0⃣0⃣ up and going strong! 👏 👏

That moment when Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra brought up a double ton. 👍 👍

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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'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)