Young Assam batter Riyan Parag made history at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2023 when he scored his sixth half-century in a row. The youngster broke the record of legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag days before smashing his seventh half-century in a row.
In the pre-quarterfinal, Assam defeated Bengal by eight wickets, largely due to Riyan Parag’s remarkable performance in the ongoing SMAT 2023. The Assam all-rounder is the leading run-scorer in the domestic T20 tournament scoring 490 runs at an incredible strike rate of 189.19 and with an incredible average of 122.50.
The 21-year-old beat the record held by renowned opener Virender Sehwag to become the player with the most consecutive 50+ scores in Twenty20 cricket. Sehwag had played for the Delhi Daredevils in the 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) and had amassed five straight half-centuries.
The record for the most consecutive T20 half-centuries, which was shared by former India opener Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Jos Buttler, and a few others, was broken by Parag with his sixth consecutive fifty.
Riyan Parag’s domestic season has gone well, beginning in August with the Deodhar Trophy. At an average of 88.5 and a strike rate of 136.67, he scored 354 runs in five innings alongside picking up 11 wickets in the tournament. With his most recent achievement, Parag became the first player from India to register six consecutive fifties in T20 cricket.
With an undefeated 51 off 31 deliveries, Riyan Parag led Assam to the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, extending his amazing purple streak into the knockout games. Bengal’s score of 138/8 was to be chased by Parag’s team, and they succeeded with eight wickets and thirteen balls remaining. In addition to Parag’s fifty, Bishal Roy scored an unbeaten forty-five.
Bengal was kept to a low score by Parag’s bowlers till he reached his fifty. Parag proved useful there as well, completing with numbers of 2 for 23. After openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Abishek Porel gave their side a fast start, Bengal fell apart, with Akash Sengupta taking three wickets for his side.
Riyan Parag has increased his chances of playing for the Indian team in the T20 Series against Australia. Before naming the final squad, Ajit Agarkar’s selection committee would undoubtedly keep a watch on Assam All-rounder as they will look to give a few senior players some rest after the completion of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.
