The Rajasthan Royals team management may well have smiled broadly at the weekend, watching Riyan Parag justifying their decision to promote to No. 4. That smile must have become broader on Thursday night.
The 22-year-old played one of the finest innings of his young career to first take Royals out of the woods and then to a competitive total, after being put in by Delhi Capitals, in the IPL match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Parag’s sensational 84 not out (45b, 7x4, 6x6) helped the host reach 185 for five — quite an improvement from 36 for three in 7.2 overs. It truly was a remarkable knock from Parag, something he will remember forever.
Planned vigil
He had walked in at a very difficult time, and he took time to settle down but showed excellent temperament.
He planned his innings in admirable fashion and finished off in great style, hitting Anrich Nortje for 25 runs in the last over — including a mighty six over deep mid-wicket.
It was Parag’s fourth-wicket stand of 54 with R. Ashwin (29, 19b, 3x6) — a promotion that proved to be smart — which helped Royals recover after a poor start.
Khaleel set the tone for Capitals with an excellent first over, in which he gave away just four runs. At the other end, Mukesh’s second ball was driven through mid-off by Jaiswal for a boundary, but off the fifth, the Bengal seamer had his revenge.
Mukesh angled the ball into the left-hander, who had to listen to that unpleasant sound of stumps being disturbed, after being hit on the pad first.
Captain Sanju Samson looked as if he would continue from where he left off in the match against Lucknow Super Giants.
He hit Mukesh for three consecutive fours, but Khaleel, who was brought back for the last of the PowerPlay, had him caught behind.
When Kuldeep Yadav struck in his first over, RR found itself in a bit of a bother. The left-arm wrist spinner had a reverse-sweeping Buttler leg-before, but only after he managed to convince his captain to go for the DRS.
Royals were in trouble then, but Parag was a determined young man.
