KOLKATA: With captain Riyan Parag in the form of his life, a red-hot Assam will take on ‘familiar foes’ Kerala in the quarterfinal of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Thursday.
Assam, who defeated Bengal in Tuesday’s pre-quarterfinals on their way to the last-eight stage, will look to do a double on Sanju Samson-led Kerala, who they have already beaten in the group stage last Friday. Though Kerala qualified directly for the quarterfinals as Group B toppers, that was the only game they lost in the group stage.
Notwithstanding Riyan’s law-of-averages defying current form, beating a formidable Kerala twice inside a week won’t be easy for the Trevor Gonsalves-coached side from northeast. They must play as a unit to go past the Kerala hurdle into the semifinals.
With seven consecutive half-centuries – a world record in the T20 format – Riyan will once again be the cynosure of all eyes and is expected to continue his dream run with bat and wicket-taking performances with the ball. It’s evident that the youngster’s all-round abilities are guiding Assam in the meet so far, but overall, the team has performed well as a cohesive unit.
Assam have scored big whenever batting first, losing only once when they set Chandigarh a target of 188 runs. Thrice they have successfully defended 200-plus totals. Chasing 227 in their opening game of the meet, they lost to Odisha by just 11 runs. And bowling first, they have restricted their opponents to small totals in T20 standards, with the 138 scored by Bengal being the most. So, it’s apparent that their bowlers have done a good job, led by off-spinner Riyan’s 11 wickets in 8 games.
Come Thursday, Assam will be upbeat to go past their southern rivals for a place in the semifinal and the match promises to be a hard-fought affair with Kerala trying to avenge their only loss in the tournament so far.
All the four quarterfinals are scheduled on the day with Mumbai taking on Baroda in the day’s first game at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mohali at 9:00 am while Delhi will face Vidarbha at the same venue later at 1:30 pm. Uttar Pradesh will lock horns with home side Punjab in the 11:00 am match at PCA Stadium.
Riyan Parag in 2023 SMAT:
45 (19 balls) & 0/53 (4 overs)
Thursday's fixtures: Mumbai vs Baroda (9:00am), Punjab vs UP (11:00am), Delhi vs Vidarbha (1:30pm), Assam vs Kerala (4:30pm)
