Manoj Tiwary opined that Riyan Parag didn’t do justice to his potential during the Rajasthan Royals’ four-wicket defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 19.
Parag was dismissed after scoring a 14-ball 12 when he shuffled across and tried to heave a delivery from Varun Chakaravarthy towards the leg-side. However, the Royals’ captain played all around the ball and missed it completely, with the ball crashing into the off-stump. This was the fourth wicket that the Royals lost in their innings and the incident happened in the 15th over.
Tiwary believes that Parag’s shot selection left a lot to be desired, especially at a time when the inaugural champions needed a partnership.
“I was a little disappointed with Riyan Parag’s shot selection, because he could not read it at all. It was a situation where RR needed a partnership, but he must be disappointed for sure, because the kind of ability and capability he has, he did not play like that,” Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz.
When the ball turns, these two become lethal: Manoj Tiwary on Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy
Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine spun a web around the Rajasthan batters as they bagged three and two wickets, respectively. The Royals finished on a below-par total of 155/9 after opting to bat first.
Tiwary noted that the pitch was on the drier side because it was an afternoon game and therefore, the spinners got a lot of purchase. The cricketer-turned-expert mentioned that Narine and Chakaravarthy become lethal when there is assistance from the surface.
“It felt good to see KKR bowl like this. I had a feeling that spinners will come in and play their role and both of them did. The surface helped them today, it was a bit dry because it was an afternoon game, so the ball was spinning. The ball coming in was also turning, and when the ball turns, these two become lethal,” Tiwary added.
Sooryavanshi breaks down in tears after RR’s defeat to KKR
KKR chased the target with four wickets and two balls to spare and notched up their first win of the season. Rinku Singh (53*) and Anukul Roy (29*) forged a gritty 76-run stand off 37 balls for the seventh wicket to take their team home.
