Onus On The Players To Show That Freedom: Parag Rues Yet Another Tight Loss

23 off 12

20 off 12

18 off 12

Not once, not twice, but thrice, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have now lost games they should have easily won. On April 24 (Thursday), with 18 needed off 12, the 2008 IPL champions lost another game, leaving their stand-in skipper Riyan Parag extremely frustrated.

“We've got ourselves to blame. Didn't show enough intent against spinners. It does play a part, but support staff has given us a lot of freedom and the onus is on us to go ahead and show that freedom and play freely. It's a tournament where if you make a slight mistake, you'll pay for it,” Parag said in the post-match presentation. 

RR did really well in the first innings. They managed to reduce RCB from 161/2 to 205/5 after 20 overs on a pitch where they could have scored easily above 210. 

“We did really well with the ball. I thought it was a 210-215 wicket. We held them back really well. Halfway through our innings, we were in the driver's seat.”

“We speak a lot as groups. We try to be very honest in our conversations about how everyone was feeling in different situations. We've spoken about situations like this, just couldn't execute it tonight. We've got to play for pride now. There are a lot of fans who support us,” he said.  

Unfortunately for RR, they are all but out of IPL 2025 after their fifth consecutive loss, meaning now they only have ‘pride’ to play for.  

“There are a lot of people who work really hard for us to come out here and play in a tournament like this. Have got to do it for them. Have to be very grateful and honoured to play this game and play for this franchise, and we've got to show it next time we play.”

RR next play GT on April 28 (Monday), at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.