Riyan Parag after loss against DC: If we keep playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for top 4

Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag expressed his disappointment after they suffered a five-wicket loss against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Sunday. RR was in a shoo-in position to post 220-230 runs on the board but could not capitalise in the final six overs as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

RR were 161-2 at one stage but lost their next six wickets for only 30 runs to slip to 191-8. Parag also lashed at his team’s fielding as they could not take their chances and felt they were not up to the mark with the ball either.

Riyan Parag said in the post-match presentation, “Pretty much everything, actually. We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn’t capitalise on that. It was… It had to be 220-230, something like that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I think we were just weren’t there. We weren’t up to the mark.”

He added, “After coming from a break, I feel what we’ve shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for the top 4.”

Parag highlighted that he doesn’t want to depend on other results and if they don’t qualify for the playoffs, it would be because they didn’t take their chances.

He concluded, “Yeah, I think that’s depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead. That is not how I like to speak to my team as well. That, oh, we need these guys to keep on losing so we can win two games. We’ve had the opportunity, we’ve not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it’s our fault. No-one else’s. And yeah, next two games, we’ll see what we can do better and hopefully get two wins.”

Rajasthan Royals will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on Tuesday.