We dropped few too many catches: RR skipper Riyan Parag

Jaipur, Apr 25 (PTI): Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag said his side dropped far too many catches after a crushing five-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match here on Saturday.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck a 37-ball 103 off 36 balls for the third fastest century in IPL but his effort was not enough as Rajasthan erred in the field once too many on a docile wicket.

Abhishek Sharma was dropped twice as he hit 57 while putting on 132 runs with Ishan Kishan (74), while Nitish Kumar Reddy (36) was also dropped once when he was on 14.

“I think skill-wise, we executed pretty nicely, but I think we dropped a few too many catches,” Parag told the broadcaster after the match.

“Quality players like Abhishek and everyone who batted, I feel you can’t really drop catches of them and you can’t really give them second chances. And they took them, so credit to that. But we could have been better on the field,” he added.

Rajasthan Royals struck 228 for six and Sunrisers Hyderabad chased the target with nine balls to spare. Parag said his side left a few runs out in the park.

“We left like 10-15 on the table. To be honest, they bowled really well in the 18th and the 19th over. They executed really good yorkers. I felt not much we could have done. But best-case scenario, I think we would have liked another 15 runs,” he said.

Parag praised Jofra Archer for a fiery opening spell to return 2/34.

“He’s been such a sensation this whole season. Another classical performance for him. Unlucky as well, a lot of top-edges in between the keeper and the fielders. So yeah, a few unlucky chances, a few chances that we gave away,” he said.

Kishan, who was adjudged the player of the match for his 31-ball 74, said it is important to not play in fear. The India player was struck on the helmet by Archer on the first ball he faced which went away for four.

“We were able to restrict them to under 230 and we were able to do that. It was quite fun to lead the team for seven games. He is a tremendous captain, so I was just thinking about my batting and ‘keeping,” Kishan said.

“You have to play your shots and not be in fear. I think it was pretty quick and it got extra bounce than what I expected, fortune favours the brave. We were pretty calm and you have to have a good powerplay, I was communicating with Abhishek on what is happening and what is the run-rate.” SRH skipper Pat Cummins, who played his first IPL game of the season, said he was pleased to see how it went for him as he played his first international game since December last year.

“You are never quite sure how it’s gonna come out first game. But the preparation was good and I think I have played enough to maybe pick it up a bit earlier than I would have 10 years ago when I first started,” said Cummins. PTI DDV UNG

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