In what has come as a strange flow of events, the Ranji Trophy encounter between Assam and Services finished within just 90 overs, even before lunch on Day 2. It is one of the shortest matches ever recorded in the history of the prestigious domestic tournament.
Opting to bat first, Assam were bowled out for a paltry 103, with opener Pradyun Saikia scoring 52. As many as six batters scored ducks, which included skipper Denish Das and wicketkeeper Sumit Ghadigaonkar.
Star India all-rounder Riyan Parag scored a 31-ball 36.
Services bowlers Arjun Sharma (5/46) and Mohit Jangra (3/5) each claimed a hat-trick, creating history as the first duo to achieve the feat in the same innings of a first-class game.
Assam staged a strong comeback despite posting
a modest total, powered by Riyan’s brilliance with the ball. He weaved a web around the Services batters to claim his second career five-for, finishing with a personal best of 5/25.
Opening bowler Rahul Singh provided solid support with 4/44 as Services crumbled to a mere 108.
The low-scoring trend carried into the third innings, with Arjun once again shining for Services, taking 4/20 to bundle Assam out for just 75. Riyan, who had earlier scored a brisk 36 off 31 deliveries, could manage only 12 off 14 in the second innings. Defending a slender five-run first-innings lead, Assam set a modest target of 71, which Services chased down in under 14 overs with eight wickets to spare.
Riyan (2/31) was the only Assam bowler to claim wickets in the second innings.
The game wrapped up in just 90 overs, a mere 540 balls. After 25 wickets fell on the opening day, another seven tumbled in the first session of day two. The frantic pace of play, rare in first-class cricket, evoked comparisons to the proposed ‘Test Twenty’ concept championed by AB de Villiers, a hybrid format combining Tests and T20s, with each side batting twice across four innings of 20 overs each.
In stark contrast, the Assam-Services encounter averaged less than 23 overs per innings.
