"We let it slip": Stand-in skipper Riyan Parag reflects on Royals' defeat against RCB

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 25 (ANI): Rajasthan Royals' (RR) stand-in captain Riyan Parag admitted that his team only had themselves to blame after a narrow 11-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Despite being in control for large parts of the match, the Royals faltered in key moments, particularly with the bat, allowing the game to slip away.
"I think we did really well with the ball. I thought it was a 210-220 wicket. We held them back really well," Parag said after the match, highlighting how the bowlers managed to restrict RCB to a below-par total, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
Chasing a target that seemed within reach at the halfway stage, Rajasthan found themselves in a strong position. However, their approach against spin in the middle overs proved costly.
"With the batting, I thought we were in the driving seat at the halfway mark. But we have ourselves to blame. We didn't show enough intent against the spinners and didn't execute well," Parag explained.
"The onus is on the players to show that freedom and put in performances with intent," he added.
The young captain stressed the importance of taking responsibility in a tournament as competitive as the IPL.
"It's a tournament where you make one mistake and you pay for it and that's what happened today," he said.
While the Royals have had team discussions around such match situations, Parag acknowledged that the group fell short when it mattered.
"We speak a lot as groups, we try and be honest in our conversations. We have spoken about situations like this and we just couldn't execute it tonight," he noted.
With playoff hopes now hanging by a thread, Parag concluded with, "We were in the driving seat and we let it slip. We gotta play for pride now."
Coming to the match, RR opted to bowl first after winning the toss. A 61-run stand between Phil Salt (26 in 23 balls, with four boundaries) and Virat kickstarted things off for RCB. Later, a 95-run stand followed between Virat, who made 70 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes and Devdutt Padikkal (50 in 27 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes). Despite some quick wickets later, cameos from Tim David (23* in 15 balls, with two fours and a six) and Jitesh Sharma (20* in 10 balls, with four boundaries) powered RCB to 205/5 in 20 overs.
Sandeep Sharma (2/45) was the top bowler for RR, while Jofra Archer also delivered an impressive four-over spell of 1/33.
During the run-chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal (49 in 19 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (16 in 10 balls, with two sixes) put on a quickfire 52-run stand, putting RCB under pressure early on. Later, Nitish Rana (28 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six), skipper Riyan Parag (22 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (47 in 34 balls, with three fours and three sixes) kept firing, with the equation down to 18 runs in final two overs with five wickets left. However, Krunal Pandya (2/31) removed Parag and Rana timely while Josh Hazlewood (4/33) and Yash Dayal (1/33) produced a clutch performance at death phase, securing RCB an 11 run win.
RCB is at the third spot in the points table, with six wins and three losses, giving them 12 points. RR is in eighth spot with two wins and seven losses. They have suffered their fifth successive loss.
Hazlewood was given the 'Player of the Match' award for his breath-taking four-wicket haul. (ANI)