India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin offered a bizarre assessment of Bihar’s world-record List A total against Arunachal Pradesh, calling the Plate group match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy “not an ideal contest”, even as he praised the batsmen involved.
Bihar created history in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy by amassing a staggering 574 for 6 against Arunachal Pradesh, the highest team total ever recorded in List A cricket. Teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi led the onslaught with a sensational 190 off just 84 balls, while skipper Sakibul Gani added to the carnage with 128 off 40 deliveries to reach his hundred in just 32 balls, the fastest by an Indian in List A cricket.
Suryavanshi’s innings was equally remarkable for its speed and power. The left-hander brought up his century in just 36 balls, finishing with 16 fours and 15 sixes at a strike rate of 226.19 as Arunachal Pradesh struggled to contain Bihar’s batting. The mismatch was further highlighted when Arunachal was bowled out for 177 in reply, giving Bihar a crushing 397-run victory.
While applauding outstanding individual performances, Ashwin questioned the competitive value of such one-sided contests. The veteran spinner took to his YouTube channel to point out the stark gulf in quality between some of the teams in the Plate Group.
“Huge round of applause for Vaibhav Suryavanshi. But I want to ask again. There is a huge difference, chalk and cheese, in terms of quality with some teams. It’s getting very skewed with some teams and there’s no competition at all. It’s not an ideal competition,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin was cautious, adding that important innings should not be discounted because of the opposition. “Thank Vaibhav, if you get a big score in your neighborhood, it’s still a big score. A double hundred is double a hundred, anywhere,” he said. However, he also expressed concern about the long-term impact on developing teams. “If we are serious about teams like Arunachal Pradesh becoming good sides, what will that do to their confidence?”
Ashwin’s comments reignited the debate about the structure of domestic competitions and whether such extreme mismatches actually help teams aspiring to move from the Plate Group to the elite level.
The former India spinner also praised Ishan Kishan for his explosive form in the same tournament. Kishan, who led Jharkhand against Karnataka, smashed a 33-ball hundred and went on to score 125 off 39 deliveries, hitting 14 sixes.
Reflecting on Kishan’s recent journey, Ashwin noted that the left-hander went through a tough phase after being dropped from the Indian team. Strong performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy helped Kishan regain momentum and earned him a recall for the upcoming New Zealand T20I and the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“Everybody has had good times and bad but Ishan Kishan has had a tough time. He came and then he was out of the team, he took a break. He made a double hundred in one day but never came back. He scored a hundred in the IPL but then he didn’t have a great IPL. He played well in the SMAT and in the course of events he got into the T20 World Cup batting team and scored in the VHT middle order. A 33-ball hundred shows what he can do to a person confidence and form when time settles down.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
December 25, 2025
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