Following his side's one-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match, Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Riyan Parag, who has had a breakout season with the franchise, admitted that he is not in his best form since he could not finish the game and has got a lot of areas to improve.
In reply to SRH's 202-run target set following half-centuries from Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan almost won it for the Royals with a century partnership. But death bowling masterclass from SRH skipper Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar left the Pink franchise just one run short of a victory.
Following the game, Parag said during the post-match press conference, "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.
After years of underperforming down the order, which caused heavy trolling on social media, Parag has been a completely different batter while playing at number four, a position he prefers to play in domestic cricket, where he has a better record. In 10 matches, he has scored 409 runs in nine innings at an average of 58.42 and a strike rate of 159.84, with four half-centuries. His best score is 84n.o.
Parag described the loss as "dramatic" and said that some small errors cost them the game.
"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," said the all-rounder.
‘Error in execution’
Parag said that he does not think that he and Jaiswal threw away their wickets, rather, it was just an error in execution and some great bowling from SRH.
"I do not think any of us threw our wickets. Jaiswal played that scoop because Natarajan was bowling good slower bouncers, hence he predicted a yorker and went for it. I was trying to muscle it for six. Probably an error in execution. We would have liked to stay till the end," said Parag.
"Credit to how SRH bowled, how Bhuvneshwar and Cummins bowled, especially that 19th over by Cummins," he added.
Parag also lauded SRH all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy for his half-century, saying that some of his sixes smashed against spinner Yuzvendra Chahal were "pure skill".
On his name being considered for T20 WC by a lot of fans on social media, Parag said that though he is not on social media anymore, he is happy that people are taking his name for the right reasons. He also expressed happiness at skipper Sanju Samson, Chahal and Jaiswal earning their call-ups for the tournament.
"It would be really great for our country. Hopefully, we can bring home the World Cup this time," he concluded.
RR is at the top with eight wins and two losses, giving them 16 points. SRH is at the fourth spot, with six wins and four losses, giving them 12 points.
