Parag’s remarkable innings, along with Donovan Ferreira’s dazzling unbeaten 47 from just 14 balls, led Rajasthan Royals to a strong total of 225/6. Unfortunately, the effort fell short, as they lost to Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in their Indian Premier League match on Friday.
“I don’t believe I owe any responses to critics or anyone discussing (vaping). Ultimately, my job is to secure two points. My runs and innings lose significance if we end up losing,” Parag remarked during the post-match presentation.
Before this match, Parag had faced challenges in maintaining consistency, accumulating only 117 runs over nine innings, with a previous high of 29. His decline in performance, paired with the vaping incident that resulted in a 25 percent match fee penalty, attracted considerable scrutiny.
Parag’s choice to bat first on a slow pitch puzzled many observers, but he attributed the loss to subpar bowling in the middle overs. “I think it was a decent score. I believed 200 was a fair target here. It was expected to slow down a little, but we certainly could have bowled much better during the middle overs and not allowed them to get away too easily.
“And then there were numerous boundaries in one over, which became a pattern. So, I felt that was a misstep on our part, but I don’t regret the decision we made,” he added.
The RR captain also experienced an injury setback, straining his hamstring and leaving the field, with Yashasvi Jaiswal stepping in to lead. “Hopefully it’s nothing serious, just a bit concerning for the hamstring. Thankfully, we have about a week off, so it should clear up,” he expressed. RR’s next challenge is against Gujarat Titans on May 9.
Ticked boxes: Starc
Mitchell Starc, the Australian left-arm pacer, made his season debut after recovering from a shoulder injury. After more than three months away from competitive play, Starc stood out as one of DC’s best bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/40, including the early dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“It’s great to shake off the rust. Nice to get some running in and regain some fitness. A good comeback… I’ve been bowling for a few weeks now but hadn’t bowled to a batter until three nights ago. In terms of meeting my skill goals, I was able to execute most of what I aimed to do.” For Delhi, the chase was launched by a strong 110-run opening partnership between KL Rahul (75) and Pathum Nissanka (62), which ended their three-match losing streak.
“There were areas where we needed to improve, and I’m really pleased with this win. Hoping to string together more victories,” Rahul stated after being named player-of-the-match.
(With PTI inputs)
