NEW DELHI: All-rounder Riyan Parag, amidst his standout season with the franchise, candidly addressed his performance and the team's prospects in the aftermath of Rajasthan Royals' heart-wrenching one-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
"I have a lot of areas to improve. I am not in my best form, I would have finished the game otherwise... I try to learn from my mistakes and not repeat them," Parag remarked during the post-match press conference.
In their pursuit of Sunrisers' formidable 202-run target, bolstered by Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy's impressive half-centuries, Parag, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, engineered a spirited fightback.
However, a masterclass in death bowling by SRH's Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar left the Royals agonizingly close yet ultimately short of victory.
"It is never good to end on the losing side. We did a lot of things right. We will focus on more rather than dwelling on our mistakes... We made a few errors in two-three overs and it cost us the game. That is how T20 is, IPL is," Parag reflected on the dramatic outcome of the match.
In a season marked by personal resurgence, Parag's shift to batting at number four has yielded remarkable results. Parag has an impressive record of 409 runs in 10 matches, with four half-centuries, so far.
1/10:IPL: Sunrisers Hyderabad steal one-run win as Rajasthan Royals falter
AP
2/10:Dramatic Finish
<p>Sunrisers Hyderabad stole an unlikely one-run victory over table-toppers Rajasthan Royals in a tense Indian Premier League encounter.</p>PTI
3/10:Bhuvneshwar's Brilliance
Needing two off the final ball, Rajasthan's Rovman Powell missed a full toss and was trapped in front of the wicket by SRH pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.PTI
4/10:Rajasthan's Fightback
After the early setbacks, Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 off 40) and Riyan Parag (77 off 49) scored counter-attacking fifties to rebuild the innings and RR seemed on course for a comfortable victory.ANI
5/10:Natarajan's Impact
But Jaiswal (67 off 40 balls) and Parag (77 off 49) fell in quick succession to left-arm pacer T Natarajan, setting off a collapse.AP
6/10:Cummins' Crucial Over
Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins conceded only seven runs in a miserly penultimate over to tilt the match in the home team's favour.ANI
7/10:Shaky start for Hyderabad
In their innings, Sunrisers Hyderabad made an uncharacteristically slow and shaky start with in-form opener Abhishek Sharma falling for 12 off 10 balls.PTI
8/10:Head and Reddy's Partnership
But Australia international Travis Head and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy upped the pace with a partnership of 96 runs off 47 balls.PTI
9/10:Chahal's Challenge
The duo were particularly harsh on wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who leaked 62 runs in his four overs.PTI
10/10:Klaasen's Impact
South Africa's power hitter Heinrich Klaasen then joined Reddy who remained unbeaten on 76 off 42 balls to take Hyderabad past 200 for the fifth time this season.PTIClarifying the nature of his dismissal and that of Jaiswal, Parag attributed their exits to execution errors amidst SRH's formidable bowling attack.
"I do not think any of us threw our wickets... Probably an error in execution. We would have liked to stay till the end," Parag remarked.
He lauded the bowling prowess of SRH, particularly Cummins' pivotal 19th over, and praised Nitish Kumar Reddy's standout performance, labeling his sixes against Yuzvendra Chahal as "pure skill."
(With inputs from ANI)
