Riyan Parag takes a brutal dig at Dinesh Karthik after his match-winning century in Vijay Hazare Trophy Quarter-Finals

Assam defeated Jammu and Kashmir in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022, led by Riyan Parag's century. The 21-year-old cricketer blasted 174 runs off just 116 balls as Assam chased down Jammu and Kashmir's mammoth 351-run target.

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Apart from his batting prowess, the young allrounder bowled his full quota of 10 overs, conceding only 60 runs and picking up one wicket. Assam recorded a memorable win over J&K and advanced to the final four of the country's prestigious domestic one-day tournament thanks to Parag's heroics.

After leading his team to victory, Parag tweeted an apparent dig at those who argued that smaller teams should not play against stronger teams. "Say it louder... "Assam hai aasaan nai" (It’s Assam, don’t mistake it for easy)," Riyan Parag tweeted.

Dinesh Karthik, a veteran wicket-keeper, recently objected to the idea of weaker teams playing against bigger teams in domestic competitions for exposure and getting thrashed in one-sided encounters.

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"Also on another side note Does it make sense to have the north east teams play the elite teams in the league phase. It just topples the run rates of teams and imagine if a match against one of these teams gets rained off! Can’t they have a separate group and then qualify ?," Karthik had questioned.

Karthik's comments came after Tamil Nadu made a mockery of Arunachal Pradesh's bowling attack by scoring over 500 runs in 50 overs thanks to Narayan Jagadeesan's world-record knock. Parag's tweet was an indirect dig at Karthik and many others who dismissed smaller teams, believing they would be pushovers and that there would be no respect in playing them.

Riyan Parag is quietly sending the selectors some reminders: Harsha Bhogle

Meanwhile, the right-match-winning hander's knock enthralled the fans, who took to social media to express their delight. Among them was famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who tweeted that Parag could meet India's needs right now.

"As we moan the dearth of batters who can bowl, Riyan Parag is quietly sending the selectors some reminders by delivering performances that match his stature," read Bhogle’s tweet.