Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022: Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma hit brisk hundreds before IPL retentions

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022: Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag scored centuries on Day 1 of the 50-over tournament to show how big a force they can be in limited-overs cricket.

VHT 2022: Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma hit brisk hundreds before IPL retentions. Courtesy: PTI

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury: Riyan Parag and Tilak Varma hit sparkling hundreds on Day 1 of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 to make a strong case for themselves before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 retentions.

The 10 IPL franchises are required to submit their list of retained players by November 15 and so, Varma and Parag’s centuries have come at the right time.

Parag scored his maiden List A century in his 30th List A match. The right-hander, who plays for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL, racked up 117 runs off 84 balls with 10 fours and six sixes against Rajasthan at the Jadavpur University Campus 2nd Ground in Kolkata.

Parag made sure that Assam posted a challenging target of 272 for Rajasthan. Apart from Parag, it was Mukhtar Hussain, who made an impact with an unbeaten 43-ball 39 lower down the order.

Thereafter, Assam bowled Rajasthan out for 128 in 33.3 overs and secured a thumping 143-run win to start their campaign. Parag bowled five overs, but couldn’t get a wicket.

Varma, who plays for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL, on the other hand, notched his fourth century in only his 19th List A match. On Saturday, the right-hander scored an unbeaten 106-ball 132 with 10 fours and three sixes against Himachal Pradesh at the Airforce Complex Ground in Palam.

On the back of his knock, Hyderabad made sure that they set their opponents a humongous target of 361 to chase down. Varma also played some handy knocks for his IPL franchise last season while batting in the middle-order.