Assam youngster Riyan Parag played the perfect knock of 174 against Jammu & Kashmir to help his team chase down mammoth target of 351 and advance to the semi-final of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022.
Parag made the run chase look easy as he batted with a strike rate of 150 and scored 120 of his runs via boundaries. Against a spirited Jammu & Kashmir in Ahmedabad, Parag walked out to bat in the seventh over when the scoreboard read 45/2.
The Assamese batters walked out with the intent to dominate. Parag was not afraid to take the aerial route. The 21-year-old shared a massive 277-run partnership with no.3 batter Rishav Das.
Parag scored 174 runs from just 116 deliveries. He hit 12 fours and as many sixes in his dominating knock. Only Auqib Nabi conceded runs at an economy rate below six runs per over. Sahil Lotra turned out to be the most expensive one as he leaked 40 runs from just three overs.
Parag's 174-run knock is the highest score by a Assam batter in Vijay Hazare Trophy. The previous record belonged to Sarupam Puryakastha who scored 163 not out against Mizoram in 2019 edition of the tournament.
Parag missed out on the opportunity to get to his maiden double ton as he lost his wicket to Yudhvir Singh in the 43rd over. But he had already taken Assam to the doorstep of victory. Das and Saahil Jain (13-ball 18) ensured that Assam get over the line with 23 balls to spare and register a convincing seven-wicket win.
Das remained unbeaten for 114 from 118 deliveries including 11 fours and one six. He played second fiddle to Parag in the run chase. This is also the highest successful run chase in Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts. The previous best belonged to Bengal who scored 320/6 against Maharashtra in 2017 edition.
Earlier Kunal Saikia sent Jammu & Kashmir to bat first. They got off to a good start and opener Shubham Khajuria punished Assam bowlers. Khajuria scored 120 runs from 84 deliveries including eight fours and as many sixes. On the other end, Henan Nazir scored 124 runs from 113 deliveries including five fours and five sixes. The two batters shared a 129-run partnership for the second wicket. While there were a few single-digit scores, wicketkeeper-batter Fazil Rashid's 46-ball 53 helped his side post 350/7.
