Guwahati, Aug 6 (IANS) Swarupam Purkayastha produced a sensational knock, scoring an unbeaten 99 to steer Jorhat Stallions to an eight-wicket victory over Barak Legends in the Assam Premier League (APL) 2026 at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Thursday.

Chasing 171, the Stallions skipper carried his bat to anchor the run chase, 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 opted to bat, Barak Legends were given a flying start by Bishal Saha, who struck a fluent 71 off 60 balls studded with four boundaries and as many sixes. Skipper Sibsankar Roy chipped in with a quickfire 45 off just 26 deliveries, 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. Rajjak Uddin Ahmed, Rajdeep Handique and Bishal Newar picked up a wicket apiece for the Stallions, while Abhilash Gogoi returned impressive figures of 1/11 in his two overs at the death.

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 pair registered the highest total in the powerplay (61/0) in the competition so far.

Roy eventually 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 was dismissed 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*, Erik Roy 41, Rajveer Singh 20; Mohit Thakur 1/23, Saurav Dey 1/23).

Result: Jorhat Stallions beat Barak Legends by 8 wickets

–IANS

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