This was RR’s third successive defeat, leaving them in a must-win situation in their remaining two league fixtures.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag expressed disappointment after the team's five-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2026 match on Sunday (May 17), admitting that their performance wasn’t "up to the mark."
This was RR’s third successive defeat, leaving them in a must-win situation in their remaining two league fixtures to keep the playoff hopes alive. The inaugural IPL champions currently occupy sixth spot on the points table with six wins and as many defeats.
Invited to bat first, the Royals were in a strong position at 160/2 in 14 overs but were eventually restricted to 193/8, with DC's Mitchell Starc starring with a four-wicket haul. Starc was well supported by two wickets each from Lungi Ngidi and Madhav Tiwari.
In response, DC were powered by a strong start from Abishek Porel (51 off 31) and KL Rahul (56 off 42), who stitched an opening partnership of 105 runs and took the team to 72/0 in the powerplay. After a brief middle-order wobble, captain Axar Patel played a match-winning cameo of 34 off 18 balls to finish the chase with four balls remaining.
Speaking after the game, Parag stated that they failed to make the most of their strong position while batting. He felt RR should have gone on to post a much higher total, somewhere in the range of 220-230 runs.
"Pretty much everything, actually (on where RR went wrong). We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn't capitalise on that. It had to be 220-230, something like that," Parag said at the post-match presentation.
The captain was highly critical of the bowling attack for failing to execute plans and labeled the fielding effort as "very poor". He noted that the team's overall energy, execution, and skill level were well below the expected standard.
“As far as the bowling is concerned, I think we just weren't there. We weren't up to the mark. Didn't really work out. (on the fielding) Very poor. You've got to be better than what we've done today. Extremely disappointed.
"I feel we are a way better team than what we've played or shown in the last 4-5 games. I feel what we've shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark,” he remarked.
Parag acknowledged that the team has underperformed in recent matches and, if they fail to qualify for the top four, it would be entirely their responsibility.
“And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn't be in contention for the top 4. (still in contention if you win your last two games) Yeah, I think that's depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead. That is not how I like to speak to my team as well. That, oh, we need these guys to keep on losing so we can win two games. We've had the opportunity, we've not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it's our fault. No-one else's. And yeah, next two games, we'll see what we can do better and hopefully get two wins,” he concluded.
Rajasthan Royals will face Lucknow Super Giants on May 19 in Jaipur, followed by their last league match against Mumbai Indians on May 24 at the Wankhede Stadium.