Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: Swarupam Purkayastha produced a sensational unbeaten 99 to steer Jorhat Stallions to an eight-wicket victory over Barak Legends in the Assam Premier League 2026 at the ACA Stadium here on Thursday. Chasing 171, the Stallions skipper carried his bat to anchor the run chase from the top of the order, guiding his side home with 10 balls to spare. With this knock, Purkayastha now holds the record for the highest individual score by a batter in the tournament so far.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Barak Legends also got off to a flying start thanks to Bishal Saha, who played a brilliant knock of 71 off 60 deliveries, smashing four boundaries and four sixes. With this innings, Bishal became the tournament's highest run-scorer, amassing 151 runs from three matches.
Skipper Sibsankar Roy played a quickfire 45 off just 26 deliveries, striking at over 173, while Aman Singh's 29 kept the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs. The trio scored the bulk of the runs for Legends to ensure they kept scoring at a healthy rate.
However, the Legends lost momentum in the closing stages, losing three wickets between the 17th and 20th overs, including both Saha and Roy, to be restricted to 170/4 at the end of 20 overs. Abhilash Gogoi, Rajjak Uddin Ahmed, Rajdeep Handique and Bishal Newar picked up a wicket apiece for the Stallions.
In reply, Jorhat Stallions got off to a brisk start through wicketkeeper Erik Roy, who scored 41 off 26 balls with five fours and two sixes. Batting alongside his captain, the two batters registered the highest total in the powerplay (61/0) in the competition so far and added 82 in the opening partnership on Thursday. Roy fell to Mohit Thakur in the eighth over. Purkayastha then took charge of the innings, finding the boundary regularly as he amassed a 58-ball 99, smashing 11 fours and four maximums.
Rajveer Singh played second fiddle as the pair notched an 83-run stand before he fell in the 18th over. Abhilash Gogoi contributed with an unbeaten 9 off just four balls to help finish the chase in style alongside his captain Purkayastha, who remained not out as Jorhat Stallions completed the chase in 18.2 overs.
Brief Scores
Barak Legends: 170/4 in 20 overs (Bishal Saha 71, Sibsankar Roy 45, Aman Singh 29; Abhilash Gogoi 1/11, Rajdeep Handique 1/29, Bishal Newar 1/36)
Jorhat Stallions: 174/2 in 18.2 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 99 no, Erik Roy 41, Rajveer Singh 20; Mohit Thakur 1/23, Saurav Dey 1/23).
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