Follow UsRiyan Parag has been in stellar form in the Indian Premier League 2024 but the 22-year-old knows he needs to keep working on his game and get better and better. This season, Parag has slammed 409 runs in nine innings at an average of 58.42 and a strike rate of 159.14. He is currently the fourth-highest run-getter in the competition.
Against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2 (Thursday), the right-handed batter registered his fourth fifty of the season. Chasing a target of 202, Rajasthan Royals lost Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in the first over but that’s when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Parag joined hands and put on 133 runs for the third wicket.
Parag scored 77 off 49 deliveries and put RR in a commanding position. The young batter, however, couldn’t finish the job and got out in the 16th over. Pat Cummins and his men then made a superb comeback and ended up winning the game by one run.
"I got a lot of areas to improve. I am not in my best form, I would have finished the game otherwise. I got a lot of areas to perfect. I try to learn from my mistakes and not repeat them. Is it my best innings? No. I would say that if I get a hundred," said Parag.
The Royals suffered their second defeat of the season but are still at the top of the points table. "It is never good to end on the losing side. We did a lot of things right. We will focus on more rather than dwelling on our mistakes. We are at a good position in the points table. Just one bad game I guess. We made a few errors in two-three overs and it cost us the game. That is how T20 is, IPL is.”
RR were in a solid position when Jaiswal and Parag were batting in the middle. Jaiswal then tried to play a ramp shot against T Natarajan, only to end up dragging it back onto the stumps. "I do not think any of us threw our wickets,” said Parag.
"Jaiswal tried that scoop because Natarajan was bowling good slow bouncers and hence he predicted a yorker and went with that shot. I tried to muscle it for a six, probably an error in execution but I don't really think we threw our wickets. It would have been nice to stay till the end, it was the plan for both of us."
"I was pretty confident but you have to give credit to how they bowled. It's their home ground, they bowled like they knew how the wicket was playing. You got to give credit to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Natarajan and Cummins. Cummins especially bowling that 19th over, going for 8 runs or something like that, they bowled better than us in the slog overs."
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