"Parag what did you eat in breakfast?" - Cricket Twitter reacts to Riyan Parag's terrific 174 vs J&K in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022

Riyan Parag's splendid knock guided Assam to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 on Monday (November 28). The Kunal Saikia-led side defeated Jammu & Kashmir by seven wickets in the third quarter-final match at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad.

J&K rode on remarkable centuries from opener Shubham Khajuria (120) and No.3 Henan Nazir (124) to set a humongous target of 350. But Parag shouldered responsibility in the crunch moments after the openers Saikia (23) and Rahul Hazarika (8) departed inside the powerplay overs.

Parag joined forces with Rishav Das and the duo revived Assam's chances in a strong chase. The 21-year-old played the aggressor in their spectacular 277-run stand for the third wicket.

Parag belted 12 boundaries and 12 sixes in his 116-ball 174, with his third List A hundred having come up in just 77 balls. The grit and determination of the youngster was the massive difference between the two teams in the second innings.

Parag was caught by Shubham Pundir off Yudhvir Singh's bowling in the 43rd over. However, Rishav Das remained not out on 114 from 118 balls (11 fours and a six) as Assam chased the challenging score with 23 balls to spare.

Not surprisingly, Twitter took no time to hail Parag's stupendous knock against Jammu & Kashmir in Ahmedabad. Here's a sampling of what fans had to say about the Assam youngster.

Parag has now amassed 537 runs from eight innings this season in the VHT, at an average of 76.71 and a strike rate of 122.88. That includes a rich haul of three centuries and a fifty.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad 220* helps Maharashtra trounce UP; Saurashtra stuns TN

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad created an stupendous record of seven sixes in an over off Uttar Pradesh spinner Shiva Singh, in the second quarter-final in Ahmedabad. Maharashtra eventually won by 58 runs as the captain led with a fiery 220*.

In a massive upset, Jaydev Unadkat's Saurashtra outplayed Tamil Nadu to fashion a 44-run victory, while Karanataka beat Punjab by four wickets.

Karnataka will meet Saurashtra in Semi-final 1 of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022 in Ahmedabad on November 30. Maharashtra and Assam will lock horns in the second semi-final on the same day.