After finishing up a highly disappointing Indian Premier League (IPL) season with another loss in the game against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday (May 4), Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane expressed grief but didn't leave without promising better performances and results from his team in the next year.
Rajasthan went down by five wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi and ended the tournament with only 11 points on the back of just five victories and one no result in its 14 games.
"We had a tough season this year," said Rahane at the post-match presentation ceremony. "We didn't capitalise on the tough moments, we can't place the blame on the boys for today, many of them are playing their 3rd or 4th game. We need to learn from this and come back well next season."
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal and right-hand batsman Riyan Parag were the two stand-out young performers for RR. While Gopal finished off as the third highest wicket-taker of the season with 20 scalps in 14 games, Parag, the 17-year-old from Assam, played some solid innings that reflected his maturity and aggregated 160 runs in seven matches, including an half-century in the last game that helped his team recover from 30/4 to post 115/9 in 20 overs.
"Riyan Parag has been exceptional, so has Shreyas Gopal - he always thinks about taking wickets," Rahane said. "We play the game with love and passion, it's all about attitude. We didn't bat well, 140-150 would have been challenging."
In the second innings, wrist-spinner Ish Sodhi bowled well and picked up 3/26, but couldn't stop Delhi from winning as wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant played a valiant knock of 53* and put an end to the proceedings in just 16.1 overs with still another five wickets left.
"The bowlers gave it all, showed a lot of character. Ish (Sodhi), playing his second game, KG (Krishnappa Gowtham) - all of them did well."
Though Rahane struck arguably the best ton of the season in the previous encounter with Delhi Capitals in Jaipur, his year still included an insipid beginning and ended with only 393 runs at an average of 32.75 and strike-rate of 137.89.
"Personally, my season was good, I was confident about batting. Captaincy and batting is different, I always want to give the best to my franchise, it's all about staying positive and giving your best," he concluded.
(Inputs from India Today)
