Rajasthan Royals’ top-order batsman Riyan Parag was perhaps at his best last night during his team’s 12-run win against Delhi Capitals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
In front of the home fans, Parag gave his best and perhaps this is the beginning of his return to the Indian Premier League after a terrible 2023 season. His impressive knock of 84* not only helped RR win but It also made him the only player after Virat Kohli to win 4 individual awards in a match.
Riyan Parag received a total of 4 individual awards last night for his wonderful knock and that made him the first since Virat Kohli to bag those awards including Man of the Match.
Before getting into the awards Parag won last night, we must acknowledge the way he handled Rajasthan’s shaky ship after the top order collapsed for less than 40 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (5), Jos Buttler (11) and Sanju Samson (15), all went cheaply and if not for Riyan Parag’s reliable innings, then RR could not have posted 186.
Parag saw Ravichandran Ashwin (29 off 19) and Dhruv Jurel (20 off 12) come and go after their brief but effective contributions, while Shimron Hetmeyer stayed on right till the end.
What awards did Riyan Parag win last night?
It was a lot of awards for Riyan Parag for his match-saving knock that kept Rajasthan Royal on the right track and helped them win their second consecutive match. It started with the RuPay On-the-go 4s as Parag racked up 7 fours in his innings and then the match’s 6s for his 6 sixes – 2 in the final over from Anrich Nortje.
The 22-year-old was also named Fantasy Player of the Match for amassing a total of 121 Fantasy points and was lastly named Man of the Match. The only trophy that could not or was won by a non-Rajasthan Royals player was the Punch. The EV Electric striker of the match was awarded for batting with the highest strike rate. Delhi’s Australian opener Mitchell Marsh received that for batting at a strike rate of 192.
Riyan Parag’s performance came at a time when the team needed him the most or when he needed to stand up and deliver a knock that could be talked about for a long time. And certainly, he played like that. Parag started slowly, trying to gauge the conditions and behavior of the pitch before speeding up his innings towards the end.
He hit every ball that came his way and what was most impressive was his fearless temperament against a bowler like Anrich Nortje. Parag showed off the variety of shots he has in his game and the best shot of the night came in the final, when Nortje hit a short throw that was carried into the stands.
Riyan Parag reveals that he was taking painkillers for 3 days
While talking to Sanjay Manjrekar at the post-match presentation, Riyan Parag revealed that he had been taking painkillers for the last 3 days and had just woken up today. “I have worked very hard, the last 3 days I was in bed, I was taking painkillers, I just got up today and I am very happy.” – Parag said to Manjrekar.