Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag did not mince his words in criticising his team for falling short after their defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday.
RR played their first match after a break of more than a week. They batted well to post a total of 193, with half-centuries from Parag and Dhruv Jurel. However, the total proved insufficient as DC chased it down with five wickets and four balls to spare. There were several overthrows and missed chances in the field during the second innings when RR were defending. Parag was visibly animated, although he also made an error in the inner circle. Losing a match at such a crucial stage of the tournament did not sit well with Parag, as he vented his frustration during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“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,” said Parag.
Even though RR can still qualify with 16 points, Parag does not want his team’s fate to depend on other results. He also said that if the Royals fail to qualify, it will be entirely down to their own shortcomings.
“And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for the top four. Yeah, I think that’s depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead. 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,” concluded an angry Parag.
As aforementioned, RR have two matches remaining, which could take them to 16 points and potentially be enough if a few other results also go their way. Ultimately, it could come down to net run rate as well if teams finish level on points.
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