Rajasthan Royals (RR) took on their last year’s final rivals Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday (May 5). After winning the toss RR chose to bat first and made only one change in their playing 11 with Adam Zampa coming back for Jason Holder. On a track which did not seem certain, in terms of what to do first it looked as if RR were a batter short. Their middle order has not been consistent which saw the former champions losing three of their last four games.
Riyan Parag has been one of their senior players in terms of number of seasons he has been with the Rajasthan-based franchise. But after under-par performances in the initial games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, he was dropped from the RR's playing XI, however, he has been playing as a substitute though.
His dismal show with the willow drew a lot of flak from umpteen cricket pundits and commentators so much so that his inclusion in RR versus GT game was also questioned. Notably, the 21-year-old was dropped from RR's playing XI in the matches against RCB, CSK and MI respectively.
Right before the 48th match of the glitzy league which saw the former holders locking horns with each other, Parag opened up on his omission from the previous matches while talking to the broadcasters and said,“Time to get back to basics for me. I spent some time with Zubin (Barucha) sir, and haven't missed practice even once in the last five days. Been doing long sessions and strengthening my basics. I’m trying to expand my hitting areas, I generally look to hit straight but now the focus is to try and hit all around the field. Want to keep more options available for me. It’s very simple for me, I want to win games for my side. Whenever I get a chance I’ll try to win a game for RR, because we have got 5 games left and we need to win three to finish top two."
This is not the first time he has been chirpy about his ambitions to win big for his team. Before the IPL, in one of his interviews he had said, “I don't want to praise myself too much, but I think I can be the best finisher not just for Rajasthan Royals but for India in years to come.”
Social media and interviews are the only places his performances have been good so far. In the six matches he has played this season he has managed to score just 56 runs. In his last three seasons with the Men in Pink he has not even scored 400 runs while playing 40 matches.
Talking about the RR versus GT's match which is on display, Parag, who came in as impact player, only extended his batting woes and yet again capitalise on the opportunity. He got plumb out to Rashid Khan after scoring only 4 off 6. It has been a tough season for the young gun and will be hard for him to find another chance in the RR set up going by his perennial flop show. Sanju Samson-led RR have so far garnered 10 points in 9 games and need to win at least three out of the final five to make it to the playoffs.
The decision to bat first backfired for Samson as RR got budled out for a paltry 118, thanks to Rashid Khan's super spell of 3/14.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Rajasthan Royals Subs: Murugan Ashwin, Joe Root, Riyan Parag, Kuldip Yadav, KM Asif
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little.
Gujarat Titans Subs: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Srikar Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
