Royal Riyan: Parag’s 84 and excellent death bowling help RR eke out 12-run win against Delhi

PTI

Jaipur, March 28

Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here today.

Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36/3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185/5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.

Parag, who was promoted to No. 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score. Parag shared 54 and 52 runs with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20), respectively, after RR made a shaky start.

“Riyan Parag has been a big name in the last few years. Wherever I go, people ask me about him. There is something very special he can give to Indian cricket,” RR captain Sanju Samson said.

Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173/5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs. Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match. South African pacer Nandre Burger and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.

“Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game,” DC skipper Rishabh Pant, who scored 28 off 26, said.

Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals: 185/5 (Parag 84*; Axar 1/21, Khaleel 1/24); Delhi Capitals: 173/5 (Warner 49, Stubbs 44*; Burger 2/29, Chahal 2/19). — PTI

RCB batting coach backs Maxwell to end lean run

Bengaluru: Glenn Maxwell has played just six balls across two matches to make three runs in this IPL but Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting coach Neil McKenzie today expected the Australian all-rounder to hit his straps soon. Maxwell fell for a first-ball duck against Chennai Super Kings, while a return to Chinnaswamy Stadium, a favourite hunting place of his, too did not offer any respite as he was dismissed for three against Punjab Kings. “You know, that’s cricket. It’s up and down. It’s only two games. We know with Maxie, he’s going to win us a couple of games. He has made a slower start to the tournament but we know that he’s going to win games for us later on in the tournament,” McKenzie said on the eve of RCB’s game against Kolkata Knight Riders. “It’s not a case of when that will happen. You’re still in early stages. In the high-octane T20 cricket, you know your fortunes change pretty quickly,” he added.

The former South African batsman was also delighted to see Virat Kohli making a match-winning fifty against Punjab here a couple of days ago. “Virat has been an unbelievable performer for so long. It was a privilege to sit and watch. I think just the way he sums up conditions, the way he sort of knows who’s going to bowl what… he has been one of our if not the best batter for a very long time. So, it was really good to see him hitting the ground running and playing a really important knock for the side after that two months of no cricket,” he said.

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