Rajasthan Royals (RR) registered their second win in as many matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 as they got the better of Delhi Capitals (DC) by 12 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday, March 28.
The star of the show for Rajasthan was Riyan Parag. The Assam batter resurrected Rajasthan's innings after they were invited to bat first and their famed top three got dismissed within the first eight overs. Parag scored an unbeaten 84 off 45 balls, hitting seven fours and six sixes as he took the Royals to a total of 185/5. A whopping 92 runs came off the last six overs. 25 of them came in the 20th over as the 22-year-old hit Anrich Nortje for three fours and two sixes.
After the match, Royals' skipper Sanju Samson was effusive in his praise for Parag. The former said that the right-handed batter has the potential to do something special for the Indian team.
“Riyan has been a big name in the last 4-5 years. Whenever I go back to Kerala, everyone keeps asking me about him and it's great to see him delivering for us. The season hasn't begun yet. Hopefully, he will continue his form. There is something very special he can give to Indian cricket,” said Samson at the post-match press conference as quoted by India Today.
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'I think basically it's about what zones the players are in at different times' - Sanju Samson explains decision to bowl Avesh Khan the last over
In reply, Delhi Capitals got off to a flying start as they reached 29 runs in three overs. At the end of the powerplay, they put on 59 runs for the loss of a couple of wickets. David Warner and captain Rishabh Pant put on a 67-run partnership off 46 balls before both of them got dismissed in quick succession. In the death overs, Tristan Stubbs put the Rajasthan bowlers to the sword and kept his team in the game. 17 runs were required off the last over and Samson handed the ball to Avesh Khan. The right-arm pacer didn't disappoint as he conceded just four runs.
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Samson could have gone for either Trent Boult or Nandre Burger to bowl the last over but he revealed that he gave the ball to Avesh after taking into account what zones his players were in.
“I think basically it's about what zones the players are in at different times. At times, they are in different zones. Some days, they are calm and composed. You have to take the decisions looking at them. I felt Sandy was very calm and I went with him in the 19th over. Even Avesh was very calm in the last over,” Samson added.
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