Ranchi, June 21 (IANS) The Jamshedpur Steelers officially sealed their semifinal spot in the Jharkhand T20 Cricket League 2026 after defeating the Dhanbad Diamonds by 31 runs via the VJD Method at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.

With this victory, the Steelers have become the third team to confirm a place in the knockout stage.

After batting first, the Jamshedpur Steelers posted a formidable total of 220/5 in their allotted 20 overs. Player of the match, MD Kounain Quraishi spearheaded the batting assault, remaining unbeaten with a blazing 68* off just 31 balls. He received solid support from Niteen Kumar Pandey, who chipped in with a quickfire 34 off 21 balls, and Kumar Deobrat, who anchored a portion of the innings with 31 off 27 balls.

Amid the batting onslaught, Shamshad Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers for the Dhanbad Diamonds, returning figures of 2/48 in his 4 overs, while Atul Singh Surwar (1/26) and Sushant Mishra (1/37) claimed a wicket each.

A persistent spell of rain during the break forced a target revision, leaving the Dhanbad Diamonds with a challenging task of chasing 185 runs in 16 overs under the VJD Method. However, the Diamonds crumbled under the scoreboard pressure and could only manage 153/8 in their 16 overs.

Atul Singh Surwar fought valiantly, top-scoring with a blistering 43 off 21 balls and Bisesh Dutta contributed 20 off 16 balls, but it wasn’t enough to cross the line.

The Steelers’ bowling unit was exceptional, led by disciplined spells from Aman Kumar Singh (2/13), Pratik Ranjan (2/17) and Anurag Singh Sengar (2/20), who picked up two wickets apiece to hand Jamshedpur a commanding victory.

–IANS

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