Rajasthan Royals captain Rayan Parag (AP Photo)
Ryan Parag did not hold back after Rajasthan Royals’ five-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals in a crucial 2026 Indian Premier League match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, publicly admitting that his team had let the game slip away from a winning position. RR were firmly in control at 160 for 2 from 14 overs, and looked set for a total in the 220-230 range, but a dramatic collapse caused by Mitchell Starc’s four-wicket blast saw them finish at 193 for 8. Delhi Capitals then chased them down in 19.2 overs. Parag, who led from the front with a fluent 51, pointed to the middle and the death as the turning point. “Pretty much everything, actually. We were in a pretty good place after 14 overs. After I came out, we didn’t capitalize on that.”
“It should have been 220-230, something like that,” he said. He also defended his tactical call to bring Donovan Ferreira into the attack through the middle, a move that yielded no results. “Ferreira wasn’t a gamble. I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but then you have two left-handers. I’d rather throw to Donovan, and take a chance, than have Shanaka throw another pitch. It didn’t really work out.” Parag was equally critical of the overall implementation of RR, especially in this area.
“Too bad. I feel like if you want to win a title, if you want to compete every year, you have to do better than we did today. I’m very disappointed.” He also pointed to a worrying drop in standards over recent matches. “I feel like we’re a much better team than we’ve played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today… in terms of energy, skill and execution, it’s definitely not up to par. If we keep playing like this, we shouldn’t be competing for the top four.” With RR still in the playoff race but under pressure, Parag made it clear that no other results can be relied upon. “This is not the way I like to drive… We had the opportunity, we didn’t take it. So if we don’t qualify, it’s our fault. It’s no one’s fault.” previously,
Kuala Lumpur Rahul
(56), Abhishek Porel (51),
Axar Patel
(34*) Ashutosh Sharma led DC to victory after Starc’s spell that turned the match broke RR’s strong start.
