On Wednesday, April 19, LSG scored 154/7 after losing the toss and batting first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Rajasthan Royals’ openers did well to add 87 runs in 11.3 overs, but the middle order faltered, and the team was held to 144/7. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed his dissatisfaction with Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag’s knock, who had scored only four runs off the first eight balls he faced, eventually causing the team to lose by 10 runs.
Parag, batting at No. 6, finished with an unbeaten score of 15 off 12 balls, including a six and a four. Despite this, Shastri stated on Star Sports that the batter’s slow start caused a huge setback to the team’s momentum:
“They lost [Sanju] Samson, they lost [Jos] Buttler and [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, but still they had enough, a lot of depth. I think that period of play when Riyan Parag came in, and the way he played his first eight balls changed the course of the match. Padikkal, at the other end, lost his rhythm as well.
“Runs started coming in singles, and there was a period of 28 balls that stage without a boundary. When you go through that much time without a boundary, you are asking for trouble.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal was the top-scorer for Rajasthan Royals with 44 runs off 35 balls, and Jos Buttler chipped in with 40 off 41. Unfortunately, Sanju Samson was run-out for just two runs, while Shimron Hetmyer fell cheaply with only two runs to his name. Devdutt Padikkal gave Rajasthan some hope with his impactful performance of 26 runs off 21 deliveries, but he was dismissed in the final over by Avesh Khan.
“They knew what they were chasing”: Ravi Shastri on RR’s batting approach
Ravi Shastri observed that Rajasthan had made it challenging for themselves by not applying pressure on the LSG bowling sooner. He questioned Rajasthan Royals’ batting strategies, saying:
“They knew what they were chasing. Luckily, they are on top of the table, and they will learn a lot from this defeat. They will learn about the changes in their batting unit. Parag was given the responsibility; they watched how he played. They had such a strong batting lineup. They could have gone for the kill much earlier.”