Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: With 11 needed off the final over, Riyan Parag took a gamble against Gujarat Titans. Despite having one over left from Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, and even two overs from Ravindra Jadeja, Parag turned to Tushar Deshpande – and the move paid off. The bowler delivered under pressure as Rajasthan Royals cruised to their second successive win, defeating the Shubman Gill-led side by six runs in a thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes the bold calls at the death will significantly boost Parag’s confidence as a leader.Parag first entrusted Jofra Archer with the 19th over before handing the final one to Deshpande.“This was the best game of the season so far. It was very important for Rajasthan that Riyan Parag commands that respect while leading the side,” Pathan said on JioStar.“He made that difficult call in the last over, and that decision went in favour of Rajasthan, which will give him a lot of confidence as a leader. He went to Jofra Archer to bowl that 19th over, and generally, you go with your more experienced bowler in the penultimate over.”Archer justified the move with a superb over, conceding just four runs and tightening the screws on Gujarat’s chase. Deshpande then held his nerve to defend 10 runs in the final over as Rajasthan Royals edged past Gujarat Titans by six runs.
“Jofra used his experience, used his pace, and didn’t give any room to either Rabada or Rashid Khan, who were going strong. That over set it up nicely for Tushar Deshpande, because if GT had gotten 10 runs off it, the game would have been done then. It was a special over from Jofra.”“And credit to Tushar Deshpande, who held his nerve and bowled accurate yorkers, one after the other, to get his side home,” Pathan added.Rajasthan Royals will next take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
