Continuing his red-hot form, Assam batter Riyan Parag on Friday hit a brilliant 33-ball-57 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2023 match against Kerala to become the first player to score six successive fifties in the history of T20 cricket.
Chasing a target of 128 for victory, Assam were 48/3 in 9.3 overs when Riyan came to bat. He took his time, steadied the chase and shifted gears towards the end.
The right-handed batter smashed four sixes and one boundary during his innings to achieve the historic feat as Assam crossed the victory line with three balls left in a Group B match at the Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy in Mumbai.
Earlier, he had scored a fifty against Himachal Pradesh on October 25 to become the only second Indian and eighth in the world to score five consecutive fifties in T20 cricket.
With that knock, the 21-year-old Parag had equalled Virendra Sehwag, Devon Conway, Hamilton Masakadza, Kamran Akmal, Jos Buttler, David Warner and Wayne Madsen to have scored five half-centuries in consecutive innings.
Notably, the former Indian opener Sehwag was the first player to register five consecutive fifties in T20 cricket, a milestone he achieved during the IPL 2012 season.
After his heroics against Kerala, Parag has registered his name in history books and he will look to continue the brilliant run. In seven matches in SMAT 2023 so far, he has amassed 440 runs with an average of 62.86.
The all-rounder Parag coming to form is also a welcome development for his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2024 season.
