"He is a changed guy" - Suryakumar Yadav after Riyan Parag scores 84* in RR vs DC match of IPL 2024
Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Riyan Parag delivered an explosive batting performance in the team's Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) contest against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Jaipur on Thursday.
Delhi won the toss and elected to field field first. Rajasthan were off to a disastrous start, losing their top order batters early. Parag steered the ship out of the choppy waters for his team, showcasing exemplary composure under pressure.
The talented youngster registered his best score in the IPL, remaining unbeaten on 84 from just 45 balls, including six maximums and seven boundaries.
Team India's Suryakumar Yadav showered praise on Parag after his awe-inspiring batting against Delhi. Suryakumar suggested that there has been a lot of change in Parag. He also mentioned how the 22-year-old was completely focused while recovering from a niggle at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Suryakumar wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
"Met a guy at NCA few weeks ago. He came with a slight niggle. Completely focused on his recovery and with great discipline working on his skills. And I was not wrong to tell that to one of the coaches there ‘He is a changed guy’ RIYAN PARAG 2.0. Watch out."
Riyan Parag's explosive knock helped Rajasthan finish 185/5 after 20 overs. Often being subjected to online trolls, the Guwahati-born cricketer has silenced naysayers with back-to-back impactful performances on IPL 2024.
Riyan Parag scored 25 runs against Anrich Nortje in RR's final over
South African speedster Anrich Nortje was given the responsibility to bowl the final over of Rajasthan's innings. However, he looked clueless against Riyan Parag's onslaught, ending up leaking 25 runs.
Parag hit three fours and two stunning sixes in the final over. Speaking about his performance, here's what the batter said during a post-inning interview:
"I have put in a lot of practice, I've practised against those kind of (bowling of Nortje). I had my options ready for both sides of the wicket - I was backing mys strengths, I know I had the power, it's good when it comes off. Sanju bhai told me to take it deep, I was confident that I could get a lot of runs. It wasn't easy for a new batter to come and score, you needed someone to stay until the end. It's been tough, I'm a bit emotional now, I have worked hard and seeing the fruits of it now."
Riyan Parag narrowly missed out on a well-deserved half-century in Rajasthan's opening game of the season against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He scored 43 runs off 29 balls in the contest.