Rajasthan Royals The captain Ryan Prague found themselves at the center of a fierce IPL 2026 contest, as a gutsy late-game decision helped them beat Gujarat Titans by six runs in Ahmedabad. The call not only proved to be decisive but also earned former India coach Ravi Shastri praise.Defending a massive 211 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rajasthan looked set to cruise for large chunks of the chase. This changed rapidly when Rashid Khan And Kagiso Rabada launched a formidable counter-attack, scoring at a strike rate of around 200 to drag Gujarat back into contention. With the change in pace, the equation came down to the required 15 off the last 12 balls.
At this critical stage, Parag chose to retreat. Jofra Archer For the final over. The move paid off immediately. Archer stuck to tight length and used his pace effectively, giving the batsmen no room to free their arms. Only four runs were scored in this over Rashid And Rabada, restricted to singles and no boundaries, took the tie to 11 in the final over.For the decisive last over, Parag showed more confidence in his resources by giving away the ball. Tushar Deshpande Ahead of more experienced options like Nandre Berger and Sandeep Sharma. Deshpande justified this belief with a composed display under pressure. Consistently nailing his yorkers, he conceded just five runs and dismissed Rashid, sealing a dramatic victory for the Royals in what briefly looked like a slippery contest.Shastri shared his reaction on Instagram, highlighting both the quality of play and Parag’s temperament.“Easily one of the best games in IPL history. Archive it! Ryan Prag you have a BA* of steel and a big future, especially in a leadership role. Great attitude. Well played!”
Shastri’s Insta story
Parag later revealed that the demand to give Archer the 19th over was inspired by Dhruv Jarrell, who played a crucial hand with the bat first.“I was actually going to change the order, but credit to Jorrell – he asked me to go with Jofra for the 19th,” he said, pointing out how that timely suggestion shaped the outcome of the match.
