Apart from receiving the inaugural opportunity to captain the Rajasthan Royals, not much has gone smoothly for Riyan Parag in IPL 2025. The Assam all-rounder, who has once again stepped in to lead RR in the absence of regular captain Sanju Samson due to an injury, commenced the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on a positive note by winning the toss and choosing to bowl at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, but as soon as the match started, his fortune began to wane.

Renowned cricketer Sunil Gavaskar ridiculed Parag for failing to catch the delivery from RCB opener Phil Salt in the second over of the match. In his opening over, RR pacer Fazhalhaq Farooqi attempted a yorker. Salt transformed it into a low full toss with a forward press and aimed to send it past the mid-off fielder, but he did not achieve the required elevation.

Parag, positioned at mid-off, took a swift couple of steps and dived forward to secure the catch, but as he fell, the ball slipped out. Typically a reliable fielder, Parag was understandably disappointed by the outcome. At that moment, Salt was on 1.

Gavaskar, who was commentating at the time, took a shot at Parag by questioning if he was one of those uncommon cricketers whose fielding was impacted by the pressure of captaincy.

“Riyan Parag is not enjoying the best of seasons. Is the captaincy impacting his fielding? We’ve observed captaincy influence batting and bowling but in his case, it is also fielding," stated Gavaskar.

Parag, who captained RR in the initial three matches of the season as Samson was participating only as an Impact Player due to injury, is once again leading RR as Samson sustained a new injury against the Delhi Capitals that has sidelined him for the next two matches. Parag, who has scored 212 runs in eight matches this season, mentioned they are uncertain about Samson's return date but he is recuperating well in Jaipur.

RCB, on the other hand, capitalized on the early lifeline. Salt and Virat Kohli dismissed the poor performance at the Chinnaswamy Stadium by forming a half-century partnership. By the conclusion of the powerplay, RCB were at 59 for no loss with Salt scoring 25 off 20 balls and Kohli steadily adding 27 off 16 balls.

Wanindu Hasaranga broke the RCB opening partnership immediately following the powerplay. He dismissed Salt for 26.

After suffering two narrow defeats to DC and LSG, RR are eager for a victory to remain competitive in the playoffs race.

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