Former India cricketer Amit Mishra was quite displeased with Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Riyan Parag for attributing blame to his batters for lacking sufficient intent against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru spinners on Wednesday. Although Rajasthan Royals were in a strong position while chasing 206 runs, they ultimately lost the match by 11 runs, which nearly ruled them out of contention for the IPL play-offs.

Rajasthan Royals required 18 runs in the final two overs with five wickets remaining when they lost Dhurv Jurel and Jofra Archer off consecutive balls and managed just 1 run in the 19th over bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Yash Dayal finalized the match in the last over by getting rid of Shubham Dubey.

Following the match, Riyan Parag remarked that the RR middle order consisting of Nitish Rana, Jurel, and Shimron Hetmyer lacked enough intent towards RCB spinners Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma. “We performed very well with the ball. I felt it was a 210-215 wicket, we restricted them effectively. Halfway through our innings we were in control. We have ourselves to blame. Didn’t display enough intent against the spinners,” Parag told the broadcasters.

Amit Mishra responded by stating that Parag should reflect on his shot selection before criticizing his teammates. “You had the game in your hands but the extra runs that you conceded. . . if you subtract the 14 wides they bowled, they would have lost,” Mishra commented on Cricbuzz.

“You yourself made an error in a critical moment. How can you place blame on others? It’s not like you were too far behind in the game. You were always in contention. You didn’t lose by 40-50 runs. It was a tight match. You could have won with an over to spare if you hadn’t been dismissed at an inopportune moment. The types of shots you attempted in that crucial situation could have been better chosen. You should have thought about bringing the match to a close and finishing it,” Mishra added.

Parag, who scored 22 runs off 11 balls, got out attempting a slog sweep against the turn off the first delivery of Krunal Pandya. At that moment, Rajasthan Royals were scoring at over 12 runs per over.

Sehwag isn't a fan of Parag passing the buck

Former India opener Virender Sehwag also disapproved of Parag attributing blame to Jurel, Hetmyer, and Rana, who faced the most deliveries from Krunal and Suyash.

"They did not struggle significantly against the spinners. They scored 31 runs each in their 4 overs. They also bowled effectively, took wickets, so they needed to bat somewhat cautiously, but it was still RR's game to win while Hetmyer and Dhurv Jurel were at the crease. Hetmyer got out, and regrettably, Jurel was dismissed. It was a soft dismissal. He attempted to create space and strike but got an inside edge. If Jurel had batted until the end, RR would have secured victory," Sehwag remarked.

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