"We haven't had such players for a long time now" - Twitter reacts as Riyan Parag blasts 65-ball 95 in Deodhar Trophy final

Riyan Parag turned in a stupendous all-round display yet again, backing his two wickets with the ball for East Zone with a 65-ball 95 in the Deodhar Trophy final. Unfortunately, it went in vain as South Zone prevailed by 45 runs to lift the title.

Chasing 329 runs to win, East Zone were rocked early on and were reeling at 14/3. That soon became 72/4 as Parag walked out to join Bengal's Sudip Kumar Gharami in the middle with a 43-run partnership following between the duo.

The Assam and the Rajasthan Royals all-rounder then stitched together a stand of 105 for the sixth wicket with Kumar Kushagra to put the game right in the balance. He continued his stellar run of form and looked set for a third century in four games, only to be trapped in front by off-spinner Washington Sundar.

Twitter lavished praise on Riyan Parag's knock, as well as his all-round consistency throughout the competition that earned him the Player of the Tournament award.

Here's how they reacted:

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Riyan Parag finishes as leading run-getter of Deodhar Trophy 2023

Parag was in scintillating form throughout the Deodhar Trophy, tallying 354 runs from five innings at an average of 88.50 and a jaw-dropping strike rate of 136.67. He scored two centuries - both under perilous circumstances - before walking out to a similarly dodgy scenario in the final for East Zone.

While he topped the run-scorers chart, he also snared 11 wickets with his off-spin, including consecutive match hauls of 4/30 and 4/57 to start the tournament.

He was a part of the India A squad that went down to Pakistan in the final of the Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in July, although he didn't get too many opportunities with the bat.

His List A numbers make for outstanding reading, having scored 1688 runs at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 102.36, apart from picking up 50 wickets with the ball. He also enjoyed a stellar Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign last year, even as he couldn't quite leave his mark on IPL 2023 for the Royals.

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Is Riyan Parag the all-rounder India are looking for in ODIs? Have your say in the comments section below!

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