Riyan Parag is a very well known in the Indian domestic circuit. At a very young age, the man has become the captain of Assam cricket team. Unfortunately, he is trolled on social media for his non-performance every now and then in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals. But the ongoing domestic 2023-24 season is turning out to be a memorable one for the youngster. After sizzling for the team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20 tournament), Parag has begun Ranji Trophy with a bang.
He smashed a 56-ball century against Chhattisgarh on the third day (January 8) in the ongoing encounter in Raipur. Assam scored 254 runs in their innings before getting bowled out and their skipper led from the front with the bat thumping 155 runs off just 87 balls at a strike-rate of 178.16 with 11 fours and a mammoth 12 sixes to his name.
Moreover, Parag's 56-ball ton is also the fourth fastest ton among Indians in first-class cricket. Interestingly, legendary West Indies cricketer Viv Richards had also smashed a ton off 56 balls in first-class cricket against England back in 1985-86 season. RK Borah of Assam had also scored a century of 56 balls against Tripura during the 1987-88 season.
Fastest century among Indians in first-class cricket
| Player Name | Balls taken to score century |
| Shakti Singh | 45 balls |
| Rishabh Pant | 48 balls |
| Yusuf Pathan | 51 balls |
| Riyan Parag | 56 balls |
Assam lose despite Riyan Parag's heroics
Meanwhile, despite Riyan Parag's heroics, Assam have lost their opening round match to Chhattisgarh who had posted 327 runs on the board in their first innings. In response, Parag and his troops could only muster 159 runs with the captain scoring only eight runs. Chhattisgarh enforced the follow on and that followed Parag smashing a record century in the second innings. However, apart from him, only three other batters could reach the double-digit scores as Assam were bundled out for 254 runs with a lead of 86 runs. Chhattisgarh chased down the score without much fuss.
