History was made in an U-23 State A Trophy one-day match, as Uttar Pradesh’s U-23 unit chased down the highest total in any Indian domestic one-day game by hauling down a target of 407 in their match against Vidarbha at the GSFC Cricket Ground in Vadodara, winning by eight wickets.
UP not only hauled down this big target, but did it in style and with plenty of time to spare, taking only 41.2 overs to reach their mark. The hero of the show continues to be Sameer Rizvi, who has established himself as a class apart in the age-group competition with a second double century in the space of a few days, as well as his fourth century in just six matches into this tournament. Rizvi scored 202* to take UP home in this contest.
The BCCI posted stating this was the highest successful chase in an Indian domestic one-day game, and surpasses the 390 achieved by Bengal’s women’s team in a match against Haryana in the Women’s One Day tournament earlier this month, as well as the 384 chased down by Andhra Pradesh against Goa which is the Vijay Hazare Trophy record.
Rizvi was dropped from Uttar Pradesh’s senior Vijay Hazare Trophy side after a quiet performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he could only register 136 runs in 8 matches. Nevertheless, he has been on absolute fire since being named captain for the U-23s, and put the cherry on top of a fantastic week by scoring an unbeaten 202* off just 105 deliveries in a knock that included 10 boundaries and a remarkable 18 sixes.
Rizvi was provided able help by openers Shaurya Singh and Swastik, who provided a 106-run partnership in just 10.4 overs to get the ball rolling. Number three batter and wicketkeeper Shoaib Siddiqui played a strong second fiddle to Rizvi, scoring a relatively-tame 96* off 73 deliveries to provide support to the UP star. The duo put together an unbeaten partnership of 296 runs in quick time, comfortably taking the team home in the end.
Rizvi’s double century comes on the back of his 201* off 97 deliveries against Tripura at the Kotambi B Ground earlier this week, while he also notched up big centuries against Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. He now has 728 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 172.51, heads and shoulders above the other players in the tournament.
Rizvi earned notoriety when he was picked for an incredible INR 8.4 crore by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 auction, but wasn’t able to have an impact or much playing time. He was taken up by Delhi Capitals for much cheaper this year around, for 95 lakhs, and will be looking to break into the team this season following performances such as these at age group level.
