Riyan Parag gives himself a failing grade after Rajasthan's defeat at Hyderabad

Rajasthan Royals lost by just one run against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. In an intense encounter, SRH took control in the last over and successfully defended 202 runs. In the final over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 13 runs to dismiss Rovman Powell off the last ball. RR reached 200/7 in 20 overs.

But even after his fine batting, RR's Riyan Parag claimed that he could have finished the match for RR if he was at the peak of his form:

“I still have a lot of room for improvement. Even though I’m not at my best, I still would have won the game. I have a lot of things to get right. I make an effort to keep myself from making the same mistakes twice. Is this my best innings? No. I would say if I had smashed a hundred.”

Riyan Parag came to the crease in the first over after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had taken the wickets of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson. The 22-year-old smashed a 49-ball 77 before being dismissed by SRH skipper Pat Cummins in the 16th over. Parag's wicket proved costly as RR lost the plot and lost the match by 1 run.

The Assam batsman also praised SRH for their bowling heroics and securing the win with the last ball.

Parag stunned his critics with commanding performances after coming under scrutiny in the previous seasons. Taking advantage of his promotion to the number four batting position, he has been in outstanding form this season and is fourth in the Orange Cap rankings. He has scored 409 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 159.14. He has also scored four half-centuries this season.