When Riyan Parag smacked Khaleel Ahmed for a match-clinching six on Sunday and broke into an impromptu jig, the people of Assam, the state he hails from in India, must have collectively smiled at his Bihu dance celebration.

Parag, the 18-year-old middle-order batsman who was included in the game at the expense of Yashavi Jaiswal, combined with Rahul Tewatia to pull off an incredible chase, helping Rajasthan Royals recover from 78-5 to hunt down 159, scoring the winning runs in the final over.

As the ball sailed over the extra cover ropes, Parag took off his helmet, kept his bat aside, and unleashed some quality footwork, showcasing the Bihu dance, a traditional Assamese dance form.

Incidentally, Parag had pulled off a similar celebration after picking his maiden IPL wicket last year, when he dismissed Shreyas Iyer at Jaipur during IPL 2019.

Parag, born in 2001, has represented the India-U19 team, and made his first-class debut for Assam during the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy. His father, Parag Das, also represented Assam in first-class cricket in the Nineties.

After the game against Hyderabad, where Parag ended on a 26-ball 42, he admitted that he had visualised batting in a difficult situation and taking his team through. “I’m a big dreamer, I dream of situations like this. Now it feels a lot more real to me. I love these situations, I’m there to put my hand up.”

“That was the Bihu dance at the end,” Riyan Parag said, “traditional dance of Assam. Some of the Assamese boys were up there in the balcony.”

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