Riyan Parag exhibited a poised and composed demeanour on the field, contributing significantly to Assam’s commanding 8-wicket victory over Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament played at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali on October 31.
This triumph secured Assam a spot in the quarterfinals, and the match took place.
Riyan, who had previously set a record by scoring six consecutive half-centuries in T20 matches, maintained his excellent form by finishing the game unbeaten on 50 runs from 31 balls. Assam comfortably reached the target of 139 with 13 balls to spare. Remarkably, Riyan now boasts a remarkable streak of seven consecutive 50s in the shortest format of the game.
Earlier, winning the toss, Assam chose to field. This decision turned out to be instrumental as they could manage Bengal at 138/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Karan Lal (24 in 20 balls), Abishek Porel (23 in 16 balls), and AR Easwaran (21 in 15 balls) were the notable contributors to Bengal’s total.
Akash Sengupta stood out for Assam, taking three wickets for 29 runs, while Riyan Parag and Saurav Dey added to the pressure with two and one wicket(s) respectively.
In their pursuit of 139 runs, Assam displayed exceptional batting prowess, chasing down the target with 13 balls to spare. The duo of Riyan Parag and Bishal Roy played a pivotal role in Assam’s triumph. Riyan displayed maturity and didn’t risk playing wild shots, unlike his IPL outings in the past. On the contrary, he was seen playing some well-executed lofted shots which earned him sixes of spinners. He also played a couple of copybook drives along the carpet off the fast bowlers. He hit 4 sixes and 2 fours.
Youngster Bishal Roy’s unbeaten 45 off 36 balls was also instrumental. Rishav Das made a valuable contribution with 31 runs from 26 balls.
Mukesh Kumar and Shahbaz managed to claim one wicket each for Bengal.
Assam entered the quarterfinal of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after a gap of 14 years.
Brief score:
Bengal 138/8 in 20 overs (Karan Lal 24 in 20 balls, Abishek Porel 23 in 16 balls, A R Easwaran 21 in 15 balls; Akash Sengupta 3/29, Riyan Parag 2/23, Saurav Dey 1/25).
Assam 142/2 in 17.5 overs (Riyan Parag not out 50 in 31 balls, Bishal Roy not out 45 in 36 balls, Rishav Das 31 in 26 balls; Mukesh Kumar 1/29, Shahbaz 1/30).
