Riyan Parag, who is stepping in as captain for the Rajasthan Royals, opened up about how their IPL 2025 season is probably over after they suffered a tough loss to the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy stadium on April 24. It was the third game in a row where they had come in chasing and once again buckled under the pressure.
The match saw Royal’s good days; they had reached 110 for 2 in just 9.1 overs while chasing 206 for victory. But things turned sour and they lost the match by 11 runs, a rather hard one to swallow. After the match, one could not help but think of Riyan’s reflections on the team’s performance, front and center, when he admitted that they really didn’t step on the gas when it was needed the most, and then it was really on them for how the outcome went, especially with the spinners opposite them. According to him, Bowling went well for us, no doubt. But as far as batting went, we simply hemorrhaged runs. We had a wonderful first half but had to do some serious damage control in the second and that isn’t good enough.
Riyan pointed out that it was up to the players to take the initiative whenever called upon by the coaching staff. “The support staff has really trusted us to make our own decisions. But it’s really on us as players to be aggressive and play without fear. If you mess up in this tournament, it costs you, and that’s exactly what happened today.”
It was apparent to Riyan that the team had failed to execute their planned strategy, which was very upsetting for him. We talk a lot as a group about handling these kinds of situations, but tonight we just didn’t pull it off. We had a good chance but let it slip away.”
Looking ahead, Riyan emphasized how important it is for the team to play for the fans in their remaining games. “Now it’s all about playing for pride. We have so many fans who back us, and a lot of people put in hard work for this team. We owe it to them to go out there and show our best effort. We’re grateful for the opportunity to represent this team, and we’ll do better next time we hit the field.”
This season hasn’t been easy for the Royals, as they’ve faced a rough patch, losing seven out of the nine matches they’ve played so far. It is a tough situation, but Riyan and the team are hoping to turn their fortunes around for the remaining games.
