Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag was happy as his team defeated the Mumbai Indians and qualified for the playoffs, but said they need to do better in the upcoming matches.

Rajasthan Royals were cruising nicely with six wins in nine matches, after which they lost three successive matches. They eventually sealed victories in their last two matches to seal a playoff place.

Claiming they should have qualified for the playoffs earlier, Parag gave credit to his bowlers, especially Jofra Archer, who picked 3-17 against the Mumbai Indians in Match 69 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium. Young uncapped bowler Brijesh Sharma and Yash Raj Punja, who helped RR to a 30-run victory over MI in their last league match, emerged as the unsung heroes of the campaign.

“Feels good when things go to plan. We’ve won, but a lot of things we need to do better,” said Riyan Parag after the match. “We should’ve qualified way earlier. We’re picking slack,” he added.

Parag was unhappy with his batting unit, as none of them managed to score a big one on Sunday despite a few of them getting a start. They lost openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi early and were reduced to 119/5 at one stage. Jofra Archer smashed 32 off 15 balls, and with cameos from Ravindra Jadeja and Nandre Burger, RR managed to reach 205/8 in 20 overs.

“I wanted the set batter to play longer; we needed runs. We can’t have two batters go at a run a ball. That’s why we sent Jadeja, we wanted a quick 20 from him, which he provided,” said Parag.

With Archer sending back Rohit Sharma for zero in his first over and claiming Naman Dhir in his second, RR reduced the Mumbai Indians to 38/4 in the sixth over. Suryakumar Yadav (60), along with Will Jacks (33) and Hardik Pandya, pulled things back for Mumbai before Parag took a brave call and brought Archer back into the attack.

Archer claimed Pandya, while Punja and Brijesh claimed crucial wickets too as RR fought back to secure the all-important win.

“I’ve taken a lot of brave calls this season; that’s how I like to lead. I thought only Archer could get Hardik, and that’s what he did. I always go with instincts over numbers in real-time decisions,” said the RR skipper.

He also said he does not praise young bowlers, RR’s find for the season, to help them stay grounded. “I don’t praise Punja and Brijesh too much, but the way Brijesh has been bowling and Punja – his journey from a net bowler to now – has been exceptional,” said Parag.

The Rajasthan Royals captain also said that he was not fully fit but decided to take the field for the must-win match. He promised that he will definitely play the all-important match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoffs on Wednesday.

“I was definitely not fit, wasn’t supposed to play today or the next game. Will definitely play the next game. Jofra’s as strong as a rock. Jaddu’s strong; he’s a warrior,” said Parag.

–IANS

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