Assam pulled off a convincing 13-run win over host Bengal in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thanks to an all-round display by skipper Riyan Parag.
Put into bat first by Bengal in an Elite group B match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday, Assam found itself in a precarious position after losing two quick wickets and were standing at 20 for the loss of 2 wickets.
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Assam lost openers Rishav Das and Pallav Das to Ishan Porel inside three overs.
However, skipper Riyan Parag (77 no, 54b, 5×4, 5×6) combined with Denish Das (34, 36b, 2×4, 1×6) to stitch a 76-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Parag played some power-packed shots to the boundary on either side. He ran well with Denish to take Assam to a decent position.
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Later, Parag joined forces with Erik Roy (19 no, 12b, 3×4) to collect 57 runs in the last five overs.
Assam in their quota of 20 overs posted a decent score of 157 runs on the board.
.@ParagRiyan‘s fine all-round display was at the centre of Assam’s 13-run win over Bengal. ?? #ASMvBEN #SyedMushtaqAliT20
Watch the highlights of the match ??https://t.co/Uozm6pR0Eu pic.twitter.com/uCtFjnBySX
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 16, 2021
In reply, Bengal had another brisk start thanks to the attacking approach of its openers Vivek Singh (21, 14b, 3×4, 1×6) and Shreevats Goswami (16, 10b, 3×4).
Chasing 158 for victory, Bengal looked on course before faltering towards the end as the Assam bowlers kept a check on the run flow.
From 130 for 3 in the 18th over, Bengal slid to 144 for 8 in 20 overs as Pritam Das (3/27) and skipper Parag (2/28) did the damage. Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar (48, 47 balls, 4 fours) failed to take the team past the finish line as he saw batsmen at the other end fall in a heap.