Cheteshwar Pujara slammed his highest T20 cricket score, a 55-ball 81, as Saurashtra thrashed Jammu and Kashmir by 73 runs in a Group B cricket match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here today.
Opener Pujara struck five fours and as many sixes during his scintillating knock which took Saurashtra to 157 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs after they were sent into bat at the Nehru Stadium here.
The highlight of the Saurashtra innings was the 70-run stand between Pujara and Chirag Jani (38) for the fourth wicket which the duo made in 6.1 overs.
For J&K, Mohammed Mudhasir, Parvez Rasool and Waseem Raza took two wickets apiece while Zahoor Sofi got one.
Chasing 158 for a win, J&K suffered a batting collapse as they were skittled out for just 84 in 17.1 overs.
J&K failed to string together a single meaningful stand and only two batsmen could reach double digit figures with Ian Dev Singh top-scoring with a 35-ball 30.
For Saurashtra, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja grabbed three wickets for 19 while Jaydev Unadkat got two wickets. Shaurya Sanandia, Chirag Jani and Deepak Punia took a wicket apiece.
Brief Scores:
Saurashtra: 157/7 in 20 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 81; Mohammed Mudhasir 2/15)
Jammu & Kashmir: 84 all out in 17.1 overs (Ian Dev Singh 30; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/19).
