Parag hails Royals’ execution after emphatic win over CSK

After starting his first full-time stint as Rajasthan Royals skipper with a commanding eight-wicket victory over five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings at the ACA Stadium here on Monday, Riyan Parag praised his team’s execution.

“I got lucky with the toss, but I think the way we executed it, we had like a couple of days’ practice, I think, before CSK arrived, and it was a red-soil wicket, but then it was a lot of rain as well, so we knew the moisture was going to play a part. I think everyone executed plans really nicely,” the local lad said.

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“Definitely like this better. A lot of preparation has gone into this. I know being captain is one part which I should be happy about and I should thank the franchise for it, but then the goal this year is to win the trophy, and we’ve put in a lot of time towards planning, strategising.

“I’ve said this in an interview before that we want to be a team that plays smart cricket. We want to assess conditions really well and adapt to it and I think that we did that pretty well today,” he added.

Royals bowled out Chennai Super Kings for 127 before teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a sensational 52 off 17 balls to seal the chase in just 12.1 overs, handing Parag a dream start to his tenure as full-time captain.

Parag credited the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger for their fiery spells while also highlighting the contributions of Sandeep Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja for maintaining pressure. He also singled out debutant Brijesh Sharma for his composure in front of a packed Guwahati crowd.

“Everyone who came in, Jof and Nandre, we expect that from them every single time, they were rapid. Sandy bhaiya doing his job. Jaddu bhaiya coming in, I think Guwahati suited him a little bit more. Then Brijesh, the youngster, I think him coming in first game against CSK with the packed crowd, what he did was insane, so I’m really looking forward to the season.”

Speaking about his conversations with Sooryavanshi, Parag said the focus was on allowing the young batter to play freely and ignore outside noise.

“What I tell him is that you’re going to play 14 games and regardless of what goes on in the game, it shouldn’t bother you. What goes around in the media shouldn’t bother you. You just go out there. He loves to bat.

“I’ve made sure I’ve told the coaches that he gets as much batting as he wants and he goes and does some things like that. So I think me and Dhruv, when we were sitting there till the fourth over, we were just in awe. Like, what is happening? Like, how is he doing this? But then I’m really happy to have him in my team.”

Parag also confirmed that Dhruv Jurel batting at number three is part of the team’s planned batting order.

“Yes, that is what we’ve been planning on. Dhruv comes in at three, Hetty (Hetmyer) bats at five, because I think we need that lefty-righty in the later half of the innings as well. So hopefully this sticks and we win a few games with this batting line-up,” he said.

Not frustrated at all: Gaikwad

Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad, captain of Chennai Super Kings, said he wasn’t frustrated by the batting failure but admitted the conditions were challenging, while assuring that the team would look to improve going forward.

“I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra and Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths and even after that, to a medium-pacer it was slightly tough.

“You could see even the spinners were getting some assistance as well. Yes, we would have been better in batting, we would have taken the game deep, showed some batsmanship, maybe take the game till 150-160.

“But, nowadays, you never know what’s a good score, so you just have to keep going. So I think it just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side. So not frustrated at all,” he said.

Gaikwad added that the team would quickly move on from the defeat as they prepare for their next game.

“You just put it behind and move on. We’ve got a game in another three days. Make sure that everyone is in a good headspace. One good thing is, a lot of youngsters in the group. So, probably a nervy start for everyone, but good to get a game behind and good to start with lot of mistakes.

“Hopefully it will be just improvement after here. I’m someone who’s not a firm believer of going all the way. But, with the impact player, you never really know what’s the good score or what’s the par score. So you don’t really often see games going down the line till the 20th over when you’re defending 150, 160 or 170.

“So I think it’s just about backing yourself, backing your game for the batsmen. If you have it in your area, just make sure you go for it. Today it didn’t work but we can be better in batsmanship. You just have to be positive, especially when you’re batting first. If conditions are good, you never know, the same batting line-up can put a good score,” he concluded.