The captain of the Rajasthan Royals, Riyan Parag, stated that he follows his gut feeling while making judgments on the field. He also gave credit to a number of “brave” calls for his team’s 30-run victory over the Mumbai Indians on Sunday, which guaranteed their spot in the IPL 2026 playoffs in Mumbai.
RR scored 205/8 before restricting MI to 175/9, to secure the final playoff berth, joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final four.
“I’ve taken a lot of brave calls this season, that’s how I like to lead. I thought only Archer could get Hardik, and that’s what he did. I always go with instincts over numbers in real-time decisions,” PTI quoted Parag as saying during the post-match presentation.
After being moved up the order, Jofra Archer hammered 32 off 15 balls and later delivered figures of 3/17 with the ball, including the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, demonstrating the effectiveness of Parag’s tactical tactics.
“Feels good when things go to plan. We’ve won but there are a lot of things we need to do better. I wanted the set batter to play longer, we needed runs. We can’t have two batters go at a run a ball. That’s why we sent Jadeja, we wanted a quick 20 from him, which he provided.”
The right-hander from Assam expressed confidence in his ability to play in the playoffs while stating that he is not yet fully fit.
“I was definitely not fit, I wasn’t supposed to play today or the next game, will definitely play the next game. Jofra is strong as a rock. Jaddu (Jadeja) is strong, he’s a warrior. We should’ve qualified way earlier. We’re picking slack.”
Kumar Sangakkara, RR Director of Cricket, praised the bowlers for maintaining composure under pressure.
“During the last timeout it was just about sticking to plans and holding your nerve. All the bowlers did a brilliant job,” Sangakkara said.
He also gave an explanation for the decision to move Archer up the order.
“It’s always guesswork, isn’t it? It’s great when it works. We know what Jofra can do with the bat. Wanted him to go out there and take a bit of risk.”
Praising Archer’s involvement with the side, Sangakkara said: “He has been like that in every single game. Very interested in the team, helping everyone. Has been the spearhead right from the start.”
Young spinner Yash Raj Punja (2/44) was also praised by Sangakkara for his poise against seasoned batters.
“He’s tall, has got good revs on the ball, turns his leg-spinner and the googly. This is a good wicket to bat on but the way he bowled to those seasoned batters was outstanding. We don’t pick age, we pick ability,” he said.
Archer claimed that bowling with pace and adhering to disciplined lines paid off.
“I don’t think this is my best season. Every time I take the ball, I have to hit good areas. Not always rewarded, happy it came on an important day,” said Archer, who was named Player of the Match.
The England pacer claimed that rather than depending on slower deliveries, the team management had encouraged him to keep up his pace.
“They said no more pace off after the first couple of games. There’s more margin for error with pace on. You have to deal with edges from time to time, but it’s safer more often,” he said.
Additionally, Archer admitted that he was taken aback by being called in to bat earlier than anticipated.
“I wasn’t expecting to bat so early due to the impact sub. Main coach told me to put pads on, I was surprised at first. I class myself as an all-rounder but folks call me a bowler,” he said.
Hardik Pandya, the captain of the Mumbai Indians, thought his team gave up 10–15 runs too many.
“I think we gave 10-15 more runs. It was chaseable, we just lost a lot of wickets in the powerplay. When I went to bat it felt like it was coming on nicely. It played similarly in both innings. Just had to hold your shape and play good cricketing shots,” Pandya said.
