Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 in Mullanpur on Friday (May 29).
Riding on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 47-ball 96 and vital contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (45* off 35) and Donovan Ferreira (38* off 11), RR posted a formidable 214/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Shubman Gill slammed 104 off 53 balls and stitched a 167-run partnership for the opening wicket with Sai Sudharsan (58 off 32) as GT overhauled the target of 215 with eight deliveries to spare.
Speaking after the game, RR skipper Riyan Parag their total was par and defendable, though he felt the pitch became easier to bat on in the second innings after the heavy roller was used.
Parag noted that a total of 230 to 240 would have been truly challenging. Ultimately, he admitted that RR failed to dismiss GT’s openers early, which made the difficult run chase much more manageable for the opposition.
"It was a par score. I think 215 was defendable but I felt the wicket got a little better in the second innings after the heavy roller. In the first innings, I felt the spinners had a little bit more grip and the shorter, slower balls were sticking up a bit more. So I feel it was a passable score, but it could have been better," Parag said at the post-match presentation.
"At one stage it looked as if 230 was on the cards, which in these big games can make a difference - those extra 15-20 runs. I think 230-240 would have made that chase really challenging. But with 215, given their batting lineup, we knew we had to get the openers early, which we didn't. And it was always going to be a tough road after that," he added.
Despite the heartbreaking exit, Parag praised the young and inexperienced squad's fighting character and positive energy throughout the season
"It's been a good one with many positives. A whole lot of positives, actually. But if I had to sum it up in a sentence or a few lines, I feel we were not supposed to qualify. I feel we had lot of young faces, less experienced, less cricket played in the IPL and a lot of new transitions and combinations we tried and tested. But I feel the character that the boys have shown and where we've reached today, being thrown in the IPL, I feel it's a great start for a long journey ahead," he remarked.
Parag lauded Sooryavanshi for his maturity at the crease, emphasizing that the 15-year-old isn't just mindlessly slogging but rather assessing conditions and playing calculated cricket.
“I can't really put it in words. There's one way where you just go and slog and then you get a lot of runs. But the way he's batted, it's not just slogging. It's not blind slogging. You can't do what you just did today if you were just going from ball one. He calculates, he assesses conditions. He does literally everything well. I still can't figure out how. But hopefully he keeps doing that,” the RR captain stated.
Riyan Parag expressed his desire to see Sooryavanshi represent the national team, bring laurels to India, and help the Rajasthan Royals win their second IPL title.
“Hopefully he represents our country and brings more laurels to the country. And hopefully he keeps on playing for Rajasthan Royals and gets us to that second championship,” Parag concluded.
