Double ton for Aman Rao against Bengal

US-born Aman Rao underlined his prowess as a big hitter with a scintillating unbeaten double century to propel Hyderabad to a commanding 352 for 5 against Bengal in a Group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Rao, who was signed by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction, smashed 12 fours and 13 sixes en route to his 200 not out from 109 balls, achieved in just his third List A appearance.

It was the second double century of this edition of the tournament, after Odisha’s Swastik Samal had struck 212 against Saurashtra last December. Sent in to bat, Rao tore apart a Bengal bowling attack featuring Mohammed Shami (3/70), Akash Deep (0/78) and Mukesh Kumar (0/55), scoring 120 of his runs off the trio with a display of power and class.

Rao put on 104 runs for the opening wicket with Rahul Singh (65) and later added 87 runs with skipper Tilak Varma (34). He brought up his double hundred in style, smashing a six off the final ball of the innings.