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The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 saw a breathtaking display of power as Hyderabad opener Aman Rao smashed an unbeaten double century against Bengal. The 21-year-old was recently picked by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL auction.
Making only his third List A appearance, the young opener showed great composure and steadily built his innings, reaching his first-ever fifty in 65 balls before converting it into a maiden hundred, off 108 deliveries.
What followed was pure destruction, as he scored the next 100 runs in just 46 balls. Rao’s unbeaten double century came off 156 deliveries and included 12 fours and a staggering 13 sixes. The innings was more special given the way he handled Bengal’s experienced pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep.
Apart from Rao, his fellow opener, Gehlaut Rahul Singh, played a decent knock of 65 off 54, whereas captain Tilak Verma got out for 34. Hyderabad scored 352 in their 50 overs, with Shami picking two wickets in his 10 overs.
Rao joins Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma in elite list
With this historic innings, the young Hyderabad opener became only the 15th Indian player ever to hit a double century in List-A cricket. The list includes some stalwarts such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, who all have reached the coveted milestone in international cricket. Remarkably, this was the second double century of the ongoing VHT, following Odisha opener Swastik Samal’s 212 against Saurashtra.
Meanwhile, Rao has been in brilliant touch this domestic season for Hyderabad. He scored 234 runs in 10 matches at an impressive strike rate of 163.3 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. His form and performance was rewarded with an IPL contract as he was bought by the Royals at hIs base price of INR 30 lakh in the IPL auction.
