Rajasthan Royals captain Ryan Prag (AP Photo)
Ryan Prague Not put back after Rajasthan Royals‘ five-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in a crucial IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, openly admitting that his team let the game slip away from a winning position. RR were firmly in control at 160 for 2 in 14 overs, and looked poised for a total in the 220-230 range, but a dramatic collapse led to Mitchell StarcA burst of four wickets saw them finish at 193 for 8. Delhi Capitals then chased it down in 19.2 overs. Parag, who led from the front with a fluent 51, pointed to the middle and death overs as turning points. “All in all, we were in a pretty good place after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn’t take advantage of it. It had to be 220-230, something like that,” he said. He also defended his strategy to bring Donovan Freira into the attack during the middle overs, a move that did not pay off. “Ferreira wasn’t a gamble. I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but then you’ve got two left-handers. I’d rather bowl Donovan, take a chance, than give Shanaka another over. Didn’t really work out.” Parag was equally critical of the overall implementation of the RR, particularly in the field. “Very poor. I think if you want to win trophies, if you want to compete every year, you have to be better than what we did today. Very disappointed.” He also pointed to the alarming decline in standards in recent sports. “I think we’re a much better team than we’ve played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today…energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, it’s definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for the top 4.” With RR still in the playoff race but under pressure, Parag made it clear that no reliance could be placed on other results. “That’s not the way I like to lead… We had the opportunity, we didn’t take it, so if we don’t qualify, it’s our fault. No one else’s.” before that, KL Rahul (56), Abhishek Poral (51), Akshar Patel (34*) and Ashutosh Sharma steered DC to victory as Starc’s match-turning spell broke RR’s strong start.
