Rajkot, Jan 6 (IANS) Hyderabad’s Aman Rao Perala smashed a double century against Bengal in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy in just his third List A appearance, here at the Niranjan Shah Stadium.

Aman began cautiously, managing only three runs off his first 10 deliveries, content to play second fiddle as opening partner Gahlaut Rahul Singh took the early initiative during their century stand. He reached his half-century in 65 balls before gradually shifting gears as the innings unfolded.

Aman brought up his maiden List A hundred in 107 balls in the 38th over. From there, he moved seamlessly through the gears, reaching the 150-mark in 134 balls with consecutive sixes in the 46th over before unleashing a stunning late assault.

The 21-year-old batter needed just 20 balls to surge from 150 to 200, completing his double century in a dramatic final over to steer Hyderabad to a strong first innings total of 352/5. His innings was studded with 12 fours and 13 sixes.

Aman made his List A debut only last week, while in T20 cricket, he has already featured in 11 matches, scoring 301 runs at an average of 33.44 and an impressive strike rate of 162.70.

Tuesday’s knock was only the ninth double century ever recorded in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The record for the highest score in the tournament is 277, scored by Narayan Jagadeesan.

Aman is only the 15th Indian man to record a double century in the List A format. It is also the second-highest score of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy edition, following Odisha opener Swastik Samal’s 212, another batter who converted his maiden fifty-plus score in the format into a double century.

Aman was acquired by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2026 auction held last December.

–IANS

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