‘I Feel Awful’: Sad Riyan Parag Takes the Blame for Rajasthan Royals’ Narrow One-Run Defeat

Riyan Parag, the captain of Rajasthan Royals, has accepted responsibility for their narrow one-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

In pursuit of 207 for victory, Rajasthan Royals mustered 205 for 8 off their 20 overs, falling short by two runs. Their captain, Riyan Parag, was the standout performer with an impressive knock of 95 from just 45 balls.

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“I felt disappointed about leaving early. I had planned to remain until the final over. We didn’t manage to score enough runs in the 16th and 17th overs; that was my mistake. It should have been wrapped up,” Parag stated during the post-match presentation.

“I think we could have found better options in the first six overs. The spinners did really well. We could have looked to cut down some runs with the ball. But the game was in our hands, we should have finished this.

I wanted to avoid having the bowlers bowl consecutively. Madhwal was only appearing in his second match. It seems now that we might have had alternative options, but perhaps our choice was correct; I’m not sure.

It was quite challenging; Andre Russell walked in and initially played cautiously before picking up speed beautifully. It made for fantastic viewing.

This is a pitch where sixes fly, I was aware of the occasional delivery that would stop and turn, yet I understood that I needed to choose my moments carefully.

I’m not happy about giving this interview here, but that’s just the way things are. You must be ruthless; the repercussions are clear.

Previously, Andre Russell scored an unbeaten 57 off just 25 balls, propelling KKR to a total of 206 for four.

Aside from Russell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44), opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (35), and captain Ajinkya Rahane (30) were the primary scorers among others.

For RR, Jofra Archer took one wicket for 30 runs (1/30), Yudhvir Singh Charak claimed one wicket for 26 runs (1/26), Maheesh Theekshana secured one wicket for 41 runs (1/41), and Riyan Parag got one wicket for 21 runs (1/21).

This victory kept KKR’s hopes alive for the playoffs, whereas RR have already been eliminated from contention.

Brief Score

Kolkata Knight Riders:

206 runs off 4 wickets in 20 overs (Andre Russell 57 not out; Jofra Archer 1/30).

Rajasthan Royals:

205 runs off 8 wickets in 20 overs (Riyan Parag scored 95, Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed with 34; Varun Chakravarthy took 2 wickets for 32 runs, Moeen Ali claimed 2 wickets for 43 runs, Harshit Rana also secured 2 wickets for 41 runs)