Jaipur, May 2 (IANS) Riyan Parag defended Rajasthan Royals’ tactical call to promote Ravindra Jadeja up the order, explaining it was a calculated move aimed at maximising their finish against Delhi Capitals, even as the decision came under scrutiny following a seven-wicket defeat.

“It was actually lefty-righty as well,” Parag said, outlining the thinking behind sending Jadeja ahead of Donovan Ferreira. “There was what, eight-nine overs to go. We wanted to delay it [entry point] a little bit and just get a few eight-nine [runs] an over from the spinners and then go from ball one when the seamers started to bowl. So I feel that was the plan.”

This was after RR had slipped to 114 for 3 in the 12th over after the dismissal of Dhruv Jurel. Jadeja replied with a quickfire 20 off 14 balls and helped Parag stitch a 53-run partnership to steady the innings. That platform allowed Ferreira to go on the attack at the death, hammering 47 off 14 balls as RR plundered 78 runs in the last five overs to post 225.

Parag believed the total was well above par. “I think it was a good score. I honestly felt 200 was somewhere on par. It was going to slow down a bit,” he said. However, he admitted that RR’s bowling let them down, particularly in the middle overs where Delhi seized control.

“I think we could have bowled, way better in the middle overs, we let them get away a little too much and then a lot of boundaries in one single over and that repeated. So I felt we missed the trick with that, but no harm with the decision we made [at the toss],” he added, stressing that the defeat was not down to their call to bat first.

RR leaked 114 runs in the middle overs, including three overs of 18 or more, and the Delhi Capitals chased down 226 comfortably to inflict a heavy defeat on the Royals.

There was a brief injury scare for Parag during the chase when it looked like he had cramps and walked off the field. But the RR skipper shrugged away the worry.

“Yeah, hopefully it’s not too serious,” Parag said. “But, a little bit on the hamstring. Thankfully we’ve got like a week break, so hopefully I recover.”

Rajasthan Royals will look to regroup quickly as they prepare to face Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on May 9.

–IANS

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