Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag lashed out at his team’s fielding after the five-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in match No. 62 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Parag, 24, was livid as Rajasthan were extremely sloppy in the field. They misfielded on multiple occasions, and the captain was also responsible. Ravi Bishnoi had a difficult opportunity to convert on the last ball of the 19th over. With only one stump to aim at, Bishnoi had a shy at the non-striker’s end to run Ashutosh Sharma out, but missed, and the latter completed a single.
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Ashutosh made Rajasthan pay in the last over as he smacked a four and a six on consecutive deliveries to help Delhi chase 194 down with five wickets and four balls to spare.
“(on the fielding) Very poor. I feel if you want to win a trophy, if you want to be contending every single year, you’ve got to be better than what we’ve done today,” Parag said during the post-match presentation. “Extremely disappointed. I feel we are a way better team than what we’ve played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today was just, I feel… After coming from a break, I feel what we’ve shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for the top 4.”
Rajasthan Royals still in playoff contention
Rajasthan have slipped to sixth on the points table, following their loss to Delhi Capitals. However, they are still in contention for a place in the playoffs. They need to win both their remaining matches. That would take them to 16, but that won’t be enough.
They now have to rely on a host of other results to go their way to secure a playoff berth. And it is not something Parag finds amusing.
“Yeah, I think that’s depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead,” Parag added. “That is not how I like to speak to my team as well. That, oh, we need these guys to keep on losing so we can win two games. We’ve had the opportunity, we’ve not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it’s our fault. No one else’s. And yeah, next two games, we’ll see what we can do better and hopefully get two wins.”
