Former player Pragyan Ojha was mighty pleased with Riyan Parag’s batting in the contest against the defending IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders. He is leading the Rajasthan Royals after regular captain Sanju Samson suffered a rib injury in the IPL 2025 contest against Delhi Capitals on April 16. This is the second instance in the 18th season when Parag was given the captain’s armband. Earlier, Samson played as an impact sub in the first three matches of the season due to a finger injury. The 23-year-old player was magnificent for the Royals in the previous season, and barring two or three innings in the ongoing edition, Parag has struggled to contribute as a batter.
Rajasthan have paid a heavy price for the inconsistent performances of the retained players and are out of the playoff race. They have won just three out of 12 games so far. In their latest match against Kolkata Knight Riders, the visiting team lost by just 1 run at Eden Gardens.
Despite a sensational knock by their captain, the Royals couldn’t cross the finishing line, which has become a norm for them in the 18th year of the tournament. They could have won at least three or four close contests, but ended up losing due to the failure of the batters in the 20th over.
Chasing 207 runs, RR were 71/5 at one stage, but Parag stitched a 92-run partnership with Shimron Hetmyer to pull things back. He scored 95 runs off 45 balls, with the help of 8 sixes, 6 fours and a strike rate of 211.11. However, the dismissal of the West Indies batter and Parag once again put Rajasthan under pressure.
Shubham Dubey and Jofra Archer almost won the game for the 2008 champions, but the run-out of the former gave Ajinkya Rahane’s side a 1-run win.
“Riyan Parag was retained and is leading the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025. He hit five consecutive sixes in Moeen Ali’s over and looked confident. Parag is strong from the inside and played a captain’s knock under pressure. He showed us why Rajasthan Royals trust him,” Ojha said.
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