Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Riyan Parag faced brutal slamming by fans after failing with the bat yet again in the 23rd match of the 2023 Indian Premier League against Gujarat Titans. Royals registered their fourth win of the tournament on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, defeating the defending champions by three wickets in a last-over thriller, but the Assam player failed to contribute, being dismissed for a cheap score.
Chasing 178 runs, RR had a disastrous start to their batting effort, as both openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were out within the first three overs. The GT skipper Hardik Pandya drew the first blood by dismissing the youngster in the second over for just 1 run, and the momentum was carried forward by Mohammed Shami, who knocked the in-form Buttler for a 5-ball duck.
The visitors appeared to be on the verge of collapsing, but a magnificent partnership between Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal brought them back into the game. Padikkal anchored the innings, scoring 26 runs off 25 balls, while the RR skipper played an aggressive knock, scoring 60 runs off 32 balls with six maximums and three fours.
Parag wasted a great opportunity to prove his mettle
Following the dismissal of the left-hander, Parag, who stepped out to bat at No. 4, had an opportunity to prove his worth by leading his team to victory. However, the 21-year-old could not last long at the crease as Rashid Khan sent back him to the pavilion for five off seven balls in the 11th over. He had nearly 10 overs to play a crucial knock and help his team cross the finish line, but instead, he wasted a few balls when RR was in huge trouble.
However, Samson's counter-attack gave RR life, and in the end, Shimron Hetmyer delivered an incredible knock to hammer the rivals who knocked them out in the previous season's final. The West Indies star scored 56 off just 26 balls and finished the match in style with a six in the second ball of the last over.
He's been with the RR for a few years and hasn't played consistently well for the franchise. The story was no different this season too, with fans not forgetting to slam the youngster for his continued poor form.
Here's how fans reacted to Parag's failure in the IPL:
Sometimes I think Riyan Parag is a bigger fraud than KL
— Bhupender Thakur (@MisterBeeTee) April 16, 2023
Parag ke pass Shilpa Shetty ka video hai
— Sahil Arora (@arorasahil07) April 16, 2023
Itna kharab kaise khel sakta h koi
— Sasuke Uchiha (@sasukesource) April 16, 2023
Dance monkey dance monkey dance for one more time
— StupidImbecileFr (@StupidImbecile7) April 16, 2023
Instead of dreaming 4 sixes.. Parag dream about 4 ducks in Ipl 🤣🥺🥺
— Praneeth (@fantasy_d11) April 16, 2023
Part time cricketer full time dancer 😂🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
— RoHitman (@_darsh45) April 16, 2023
Still gonna play next 100000 matches for RR
— Sidhvin (@RCBfan01) April 16, 2023
Attitude 100% contribution 0%
— Nimish Shirsat (@shirsat_nimish) April 16, 2023
Biggest fraud 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥
— Ben stokes (@18kingofcricket) April 16, 2023
Te pan parag ka kya roll hai iss team mai..
— MAHI 🥀 (@msdian_kuldeep) April 16, 2023
He had a best chance .But No use
— kane_watto (@kane_watto) April 16, 2023