Parag remained unbeaten on 15 in 12 balls, while RR lost by 10 runs.
On Wednesday, Parag scored only four runs off his first eight balls when the required run rate for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) was past 10 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, despite openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal giving the side a good start with knocks of 40 and 44 respectively, adding 87 runs in 11.3 overs.
However, LSG bowlers then made a comeback and tied the RR batting down with Sanju Samson (2), Shimron Hetmyer (2), Devdutt Padikkal (26), and Riyan Paraag (15*) only managing 144/6 in 20 overs and lost the match by 10 runs.
Shastri didn’t mince words in saying that Parag’s slow start changed the course of the match. The veteran also reckoned that due to Parag’s knock, Devdutt Padikkal also lost his touch.
IPL 2023: Fans show no mercy as Riyan Parag’s continued failures spark meme fest
“They lost Samson, they lost Buttler and Jaiswal but still they had enough, a lot of depth. I think that period of play when Riyan Parag came in and the way he played his first eight balls changed the course of the match. Padikkal, at the other end, lost his rhythm as well.
Runs started coming in singles and there was a period of 28 balls at that stage without a boundary. When you go through that much time without a boundary, you are asking for trouble,” Shastri told to Star Sports.
His fellow commentator, England’s Kevin Pietersen was also not so fond of Parag’s knock.
He said: “They knew what they were chasing. Luckily, they are on top of the table and will learn a lot from this defeat. They will learn about the changes in their batting unit. Parag was given the responsibility, they watched how he played. They had such a strong batting lineup. They could have gone for the kill much earlier.”
Despite the defeat, the Royals stayed on top of the table with eight points with victories in four out of six matches.