RR vs SRH: Captain Riyan Parag not happy even after defeating Hyderabad in the eliminator, gave this advice to the team

In the eliminator match of IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 47 runs and got the ticket for Qualifier-2. On the basis of 15-year-old young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s explosive innings of 97 runs in 29 balls, Rajasthan made a mountain-like score of 243 runs in the stipulated 8 overs and bundled out Hyderabad for 196 runs. Despite this explosive and one-sided victory, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag is not completely happy. After the match, he pointed out a major flaw in the team and said that he likes to be a ‘perfectionist’ captain.

"We should have scored 260 runs…" Captain unhappy with finishing: During the post-match presentation, when Riyan Parag was asked a question about the win, he said:

"Yes, it was a good game. But I like to be a perfectionist. I know no game can be completely perfect in cricket, but after the stormy start Vaibhav Suryavanshi gave us today, we should have scored at least 260 runs. We have to work a little on how to finish the innings brilliantly after getting such a good start."

However, Parag looked extremely impressed with his team’s bowling. He said that even when Travis Head and Ishan Kishan were hitting boundaries in the first and second overs, the team did not lose its patience and made a great comeback. Captain’s strategy regarding Vaibhav Suryavanshi: "Leave him alone"

When Riyan Parag was asked what conversations he has on the field or off the field with 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is leading the Orange Cap race, the captain gave a very surprising and funny answer. Parag said:

"The truth is that we do not have any conversation among ourselves (about batting). Just leave him alone, let him go out on the field and have fun. He likes batting very much. All we do is give him a lot of batting practice in the nets, and then he goes out on the field and does his job very well."

Pressure of knockout matches and the enthusiasm of the team On the question of the last two matches being consecutive knockouts (Do or Die), Parag admitted that when everything is at stake, a different level of enthusiasm comes within the players. He said, "When your entire season is at stake, everyone becomes a little more active and focused. Our team has worked hard throughout the season, but everyone’s energy level in the last two matches was amazing."

Jofra Archer and Riyan Parag’s funny conversation on the middle field. During the match, Rajasthan Royals’ star fast bowler Jofra Archer stunned the Hyderabad batsmen with his pace. Parag shared a funny anecdote about his on-field tuning with Archer:

"We keep talking about funny little things on the field. When Archer bowled the first ball to Abhishek Sharma, I was about to take the catch but the ball went wide. I went to Joffra and said ‘Joff, I need you to bowl a little more straight (on the line).’ He got a wicket on the very next ball. After taking the wicket he smiled inside and asked me ‘Is it straight enough for you?’"

Parag praised Archer and said that he is one of the best bowlers in world cricket. When a bowler is bowling at a speed of 150 km/hr (150 Clicks), the captain does not need to teach him anything, he knows his job himself.