Rajasthan Royals crashed to a narrow one-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2024 fixture, on Thursday. In what was a closely-fought affair, SRH reigned supreme in the final over, defending a target of 202 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was handed the duty to defend 13 runs in the final over, and the pacer leaked 11, including dismissing Rovman Powell in the final ball, as RR reached 200/7 in 20 overs.
RR had a shaky start, losing opener Jos Buttler to a golden duck and captain Sanju Samson was removed within three deliveries, without scoring a single run. But Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag had other plans, leading a fightback.
T Natarajan struck in the 14th over, removing Jaiswal, who was looking extremely dangerous. The India opener, who has been selected for the upcoming T20 World Cup, smacked 67 runs off 40 deliveries, packed with seven fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Parag fell in the 16th over, getting dismissed by Pat Cummins for 77 off 49 balls. The Assam cricketer also clattered eight fours and four sixes. On Parag’s departure, RR were reeling at 159/4 in 15.5 overs.
Natarajan then removed Shimron Hetmyer (13) in the 18th over, followed by Dhruv Jurel (1) falling to Cummins in the 19th. A six by Powell in the final delivery of the 19th over reduced the equation to 13 runs off six balls. But Bhuvneshwar performed his role to its best ability, conceding only one boundary in the over, leaving SRH overjoyed with celebrations.
Parag, who missed out on a T20 World Cup spot, was left regretting that he could not wrap up the game for RR. “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,” he said, after the match.
Despite the defeat, Parag feels that RR should not focus on the defeat, as they are in a good position in the points table. RR are in pole position with 16 points in 10 matches, ahead of second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders, who have 12 in nine fixtures.
“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,” he said.
The 22-year-old also defended RR’s approach in the run chase, stating that nobody threw their wickets. “I do not think any of us threw our wickets. Jaiswal played that scoop because Natrajan 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. Credit to how SRH bowled, how Bhuvneshwar and Cummins bowled, especially that 19th over by Cummins,” he explained.
He also had a message for Team India after missing out on T20 World Cup selection. “It would be really great for our country. Hopefully, we can bring home the World Cup this time,” he said.
After falling victim to trolls in the last few seasons, Parag has silenced his critics with dominating displays. He has been in resurgent form this season, and is fourth in the Orange Cap race, taking advantage of his promoted batting position at no. 4. In 10 matches, he has registered 409 runs at a strike rate of 159.14. He has also registered four half-centuries this season.
