The home team was sent in to bat and was down to 36 for 3 in the eighth over, but Parag, 22, stood alone and guided the team to 185 for 5.
In the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL match against Delhi Capitals on Thursday in Jaipur, young Riyan Parag demonstrated why he is regarded as a precocious talent by hitting a brilliant 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run victory. RR was put in to bat and was down to 36 for 3 in the eighth over, but Parag, 22, pushed the home team to 185 for 5 on his own with a brilliant unbeaten knock that included seven fours and six sixes.
After scoring 43 in the previous game and being moved up to number four by the team management this season, Parag got his highest T20 score of 25 runs against veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the last over.
DC had to chase 186 to win, but they could only muster 173 for 5 in 20 overs. However, they were kept in the hunt until the very last over, when they needed 17 runs, thanks to South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls).
To help RR win their second straight game, Avesh Khan gave up just four runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Nandre Burger, two South African pacers, each claimed two wickets to help the RR triumph.
“Very let down. Making the most of this experience is learning from it. Throughout the 15–16 overs, the bowlers performed admirably. But the hitters came through in the last moments, so maybe we can improve in the next game,” DC captain Rishabh Pant remarked.
In the fourth over, Burger took two wickets in three balls with a brilliant exhibition of fast bowling that reduced DC to 34 for 2.
After replacing Shimron Hetmyer as an Impact Sub, Burger removed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
As soon as Bhui’s wicket fell, DC skipper Rishabh Pant entered the batting and, with veteran batsman David Warner, steadily increased the innings without taking too many chances. By half-way, Delhi were 89 for 2.
Being able to set boundaries and maintain DC’s competitiveness made Warner the more aggressive one. Sandeep Sharma’s stunning diving catch off Avesh’s bowling in the 12th over prevented the veteran Australian batsman from reaching his fifty-run mark.
A vital 67-run partnership for the third wicket was shared by Warner and Pant.
Attempting to establish the innings with sporadic boundaries, Pant, who was playing in his 100th IPL match, came 14 months after a horrific automobile accident. In the 14th over, however, Chahal produced a slight lower edge that allowed Sanju Samson to do the job behind the stumps, and he was out for a 26-ball 28.
In the final five overs, DC needed to score 66 runs, as the asking rate surged to over 13 runs per above.
Despite being short of runs by 12 runs in the end, Stubbs managed to keep DC in the match with two straight sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over.
They could not collect the 34 runs they required from the last two overs. DC have now lost two games in a row.
Previously, after RR got off to a rough start, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs, respectively, with Ravichandran Ashwin (29), and Dhruv Jurel (20).
Mukesh Kumar, a bowler, threw the fourth over to Royals captain Samson, who hit three straight boundaries before Pant was bowled out for fifteen after nicking a delivery from Khaleel Ahmed.
By then, RR had reached 30 for 2, and Mukesh had dealt DC their first blow by getting rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav had put the Royals in even more jeopardy when he had almost forced captain Pant to take an unsuccessful review after dismissing Englishman Jos Buttler for leg before wicket.
As RR reached 58 for 3 at the midway point, Ashwin, who batted at number five, lofted a bowling from Kuldeep for a six. In the next over, he hit two sixes that resulted in fifteen runs, giving Nortje even more brutal treatment.
Nevertheless, Ashwin let up a 19-ball 29 to Tristan Stubbs by holeing out close to the boundary ropes.
After that, Parag asserted himself, hitting two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to push RR over 100 in the fifteenth over.
