Rajasthan Royals faced a disappointing defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier of the 2024 Indian Premier League on Friday night. The loss meant RR's wait for their second IPL title continues; the side had reached the final two years ago under Sanju Samson's captaincy and only marginally failed to qualify for the Playoffs in 2023.

On Friday, RR's batting lineup faltered under challenging conditions, as the lack of dew aided SRH's spin attack with their unheralded duo of Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Sharma, leaving the Royals bewildered. None of the dismissals, however, was as criticised as the one of Riyan Parag, which triggered the side's batting collapse.

Chasing a target of 176 for a spot in the final, Rajasthan Royals found themselves struggling at 67-3 by the 8.3 over mark. The introduction of spinners Abhishek and Shahbaz made the chase even more difficult, as they stifled the scoring. In a stretch of 22 balls, RR failed to hit a boundary, creating immense pressure on the batsmen.

Riyan Parag, with six runs off nine deliveries, decided to take on Shahbaz Ahmed, who had not taken a wicket in his previous nine games. On the first ball of the 12th over, Parag aimed to launch a back-of-a-length delivery for a six but ended up getting a thick top edge. The ball soared high and was comfortably caught by Abhishek at deep mid-wicket. This dismissal led to visible frustration from cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar, who didn't mince his words as he lashed out at the young RR batter.

Riyan Parag gets a pasting from Sunil Gavaskar for reckless batting in RR vs SRH IPL Qualifier 2

“Seriously, seriously? What's the use of all the talent if you're not going to think. What kind of shot is that? Seriously,”  Sunil Gavaskar said angrily on-air.

“So much talent… if you don't have the temperament, it's not going to work. So what if you had a few dot balls? You can make up for that,” the former India captain added.

Parag was RR's top batter in the IPL 2024, ending his campaign with 573 runs in 16 matches; he played a key role in the side's win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Eliminator match, scoring an important 36 and holding one end to stabilise the innings and taking RR close to victory. On Friday, however, Parag failed to replicate his heroics, enduring a bitter end to his season.

SRH face KKR

With the win on Friday, it will yet again be the battle between the two sides which played in the first qualifier, as the Sunrisers will look to avenge their previous loss against Kolkata Knight Riders. The Shreyas Iyer-led side had topped the league stage and remains in brilliant form, and has the advantage of more rest than their competitors, having played last on Tuesday.

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