SMAT 2023 | Twitter reacts to Riyan Parag's bold provoking gesture after leading Assam to quarters
When a star talent emerges from a conventionally non-cricketing region, the pressure to lead the team and make it big can be too much for young bucks to handle. However, Riyan Parag proved he's cut from a different cloth on Tuesday, as he brazenly gestured after a marauding win against Bengal.
Assam kept their juggernaut rolling in the ongoing edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament, by securing a place in the quarterfinal for the first time since the 2009 edition. The side achieved the feat by comprehensively defeating arch-rivals Bengal in the preliminary encounter, restricting them to a paltry 138/8 in Chandigarh before chasing down the target comfortably with eight wickets and 13 balls to spare. As has been the story throughout their campaign, the driving force in their impressive performance was swashbuckling all-rounder Riyan Parag who continues to make waves on the domestic circuit at the ripe age of 21.
Parag first displayed his skills with the ball by scalping two wickets while conceding just 23 runs in his four overs before stroking his way to an unbeaten half-century of just 31 balls, smashing two fours and four maximums in the process. With victory in his sights by the time he reached the milestone, Parag took the opportunity to make a commanding statement to the cricketing fraternity. He used his index finger to symbolize the world before pointing to himself and indicating he was a level above the rest, capping off the pompous celebration with a flex of his biceps. Notably, Parag extended his record with this knock of most consecutive half-centuries in T20 cricket, the latest being his seventh on the trot to make his tournament haul read a ridiculous 490 runs in eight innings at an average of 122.50 and a strike rate of 189.19.
Incidentally, a commentator earlier in the game had remarked on air that Assam were seen as "second-class citizens" owing to how comfortably they were trumped by Bengal in the past, making Twitterati speculate the true meaning behind Parag's provoking gestures.
Top G
— Shamsi sinha (@SSinha23546)
Great Performance
Riyan Parag in this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023:
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh)
In Batting - 8 inns, 490 runs, 122.5 ave, 189.2 SR, 7 fifties, 30 4s, 39 6s.
In Bowling - 8 inns, 11 wickets, 19.6 ave, 6.9 economy.
One of the greatest performance in a T20 cricket tournaments history - Incredible, Parag.
Impressive play
Meanwhile Riyan Parag has hit seven consecutive 50s in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. That kind of consistency in a T20 format is really impressive.
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj)
He is proving
For all the trolling that this young man gets,he is proving to be an absolutely resilient cricketer breaking the door open with some incredible performances. Another 50 today taking Assam to the quarters. 7th in 8 games,the other score was 45. Well done Riyan Parag!
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav)
Well done
Riyan Parag is the one-man army of Assam. Defeating Bengal to reach the SMAT quarter-finals is no mean feat. Well done, young man 👏👏
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash)
Pathetic or heroic?
Very pathetic gesture. He should be shown no mercy. No wonder he never succeeds at IPL level. With every like I’ll name a domestic player who’s more capable than Riyan Parag.
— Akif (@KM_Akif)
The response
Context is important! 🚨
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket)
A known domestic commentator mentioned former Assam players as second class citizens when comparing to former Bengal players. That's what he is responding to. Well done, Riyan Parag! 👏🏻
Insane form
7th consecutive fifty in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 for Riyan Parag.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)
- He's in absolute insane form!!
Rise above
showed that gesture to his teammates not Bengal players.
— Ajitdeep (@CHAIHOLIC_)
It clearly meant, "Ignore outside noises and rise above everyone."
You guys troll him everyday, he gave it back yesterday. Now, you can't digest that.
Next level
This is Riyan Parag Rajasthan royals player.
— Anurag™ (@SamsonCentral)
He is playing ipl since 2019 played over 50 ipl games and has an avg of 16 and SR of 124.
In recent smat game he celebrated saying these guys aren't on my level. I belong to another level called mediocrity.
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