Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
Rajasthan Royals (RR) stand-in skipper Riyan Parag has praised Mumbai Indians (MI) for their stunning win against the Pink Army in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 game held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on May 1. Chasing the giant score of 218 runs, RR surrendered on 117 in 16.1 overs. Earlier, batting first, Mumbai Indians (MI) looked sensational as they emphasised on keeping wickets in hand to post a massive total on the board. Riding on the excellent start from Ryan Rickelton (61 off 38) and Rohit Sharma (53 off 36), the five-time champion side delivered a quality target to the hosts.
Following the contest, RR captain Parag accepted that Mumbai outclassed his team. He also commended MI’s strategy of saving wickets in the initial stage of the match. "You've got to give credit to MI for the way they batted. They kept wickets. Yeah, 190-200 would have been ideal. We've been getting good starts. But it's up to the middle order - myself, Dhruv (Jurel) - to step up. We've done a lot of things right and wrong. A lot of mistakes and small errors. We want to focus on them, and focus on the good (stuff) as well," said Parag to ESPNcricinfo.
Riyan Parag has been ineffective as batter in IPL 2025
Riyan Parag was expected to replicate his IPL 2024 performance for RR this year but the youngster has failed to do so thus far in the tournament. The right-handed batter has scored only 282 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 160.22. As a skipper, he has led RR in eight games and has delivered victory in only two victories.
In the remainder of the tournament, his role will be to stand tall and deliver fine moments to his team. In Samson’s absence, Parag had got the perfect opportunity to prove himself as a leader but noting his performance so far in the competition, it can be said that he failed to justify his role not just as captain but batter as well.
