Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s masterclass against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator on Wednesday was praised by Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag. However, Parag believed that the team could have done better with the bat by reaching 260 runs at least and needed to concentrate on finishing off the innings better.
A spectacular 97 in 29 balls by Sooryavanshi and a Jofra-Archer-Nandre Burger powerplay display defeated a fan-favorite, fiery, and in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), putting Riyan-led RR only one step away from securing a position in the IPL final.
Speaking after the match, Parag said: “I think I like to be a perfectionist. I know it’s not going to be a perfect game altogether. But even today, we should have gotten 260, right? So a bit to work on that. How to finish off innings after we get a start like Vaibhav did.
“But with the ball, I think I was really impressed. I think we held our calm. They got a lot of runs in the second over or the first, once Ishan and Travis added a few boundaries, but I think we came back really well and a good performance altogether,” he added.
He claimed to have no conversations with big-hitting Sooryavanshi and that it would be preferable to “leave him alone and have fun” instead.
“He likes batting, like I have said before, so we get him a lot of batting practice at the nets and stuff like that. And then he goes out and does his thing,” he added.
Additionally, Parag stated that his team’s last two league stage games were crucial and helped them perform better.
“I feel when everything is on the line, I feel everyone works really hard towards it. And even during the season, I think it would be not fair enough to say that we were even more energised, even more focused because the game was on the line, because the season was on the line. Everyone has done that throughout the season, but especially the last two games, everyone just turned up a little bit more,” he said.
He also called pacer Jofra Archer “one of the best in world cricket” and said that one “should not ask him to do anything” after Archer continued his impressive season with another three-fer, bringing his total number of wickets to 24.
“I feel the first ball he bowled to Abhishek that I almost got a catch, but there it was wide. So, I went up to Jofra. I was like, Joff, I need you to be a little straighter. And then he gets the wicket, and he asks me, smiling inside, is that straight enough for you? So, I feel he is one of the best, if not the best in world cricket. And I feel when he is bowling 150 clicks, you do not ask him to bowl slow. You do not ask him to do anything. You just remind him if, at all he needs any reminding of, otherwise he just does his job,” he added.
Riyan, who has struggled with his hamstring this season, stated that he would not be practicing and would instead be recuperating before Friday’s Qualifier 2 versus GT.
