Guwahati: Assam triumphed over Madhya Pradesh thanks in large part to Riyan Parag in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 encounter on Saturday in Gujarat.
Parag led the Assam side to a five-wicket triumph over superior adversaries and the Ranji champions Madhya Pradesh by scoring the game-winning innings of 75 runs off 41 balls.
In the match, which was played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Madhya Pradesh won the toss and decided to bat first.
When Madhya Pradesh entered the batting order, they had the worst possible start when opener Chanchal Rathore was out on the first ball. With outstanding performances from Shubham Sharma, Rajat Patidar, and Ashwin Das, they did, however, successfully bounce back.
The Madhya Pradesh innings reached a respectable total of 192 in their 20 overs thanks to Sharma’s 56 runs off 45 balls, Patidar’s 52 runs off 32, and Das’ 68 runs off 30.
Rajakuddin Ahmed, Roshan Alam, and Mukhtar Hussain all claimed one wicket apiece for Assam, while Mukhtar Hussain claimed two.
Assam needed 193 runs to win when they batted, which was a tall order that was met head-on. After a rough start in which opener Nihar Narah was dismissed after scoring 12 runs off 9 balls, Rahul Hazarika and the other opener helped to steady the ship by putting together a 39-run partnership off 31 balls.
When Assam was reeling at 37 for the loss of two wickets, Wasiqur Rahman’s wicket was easily lost, and he left the field without making a run. At the opposite end, Hazarika persevered and raised the score to 92 before being eliminated with talisman Riyan Parag.
After that, it became an exciting experience for the crowd as Parag continued to score seven 4s and four 6s to bring the team total to 177 before leaving for 75 off 41 deliveries.
Nipan Deka scored 42 off 26 while playing with Parag, who helped the team get to the finish line. Assam won the match with five balls remaining.