Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag (ANI Photo) Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag found himself at the center of an enthralling IPL 2026 contest as a gutsy late-match decision helped him edge Gujarat Titans by six runs in Ahmedabad. This call not only proved decisive but also earned admiration from former India coach Ravi Shastri.Defending a sizeable 211 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rajasthan seemed to be cruising for large parts of the chase. That quickly changed as Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada launched a blistering counter-attack and scored at a rate of nearly 200 to drag Gujarat back into contention. With the momentum shifting, the equation came down to 15 required off the last 12 balls.
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‘Bowlers have it tough’ – Glenn Phillips breaks down modern T20 cricket At this critical stage, Parag decided to support Jofra Archer in the penultimate game. This move paid off immediately. Archer stuck to hard lengths and used his pace effectively, giving the batsmen no room to relax their arms. The over yielded just four runs, with Rashid and Rabada restricted to singles and no boundary awarded, tightening the equation to 11 from the final over.In the deciding final, Parag showed further confidence in his resources by giving the ball to Tushar Deshpande ahead of more experienced players like Nandre Burger and Sandeep Sharma. Deshpande justified this belief with a composed speech under pressure. He nailed his yorkers consistently, conceding just five runs and dismissing Rashid to seal a dramatic victory for the Royals in what briefly looked like a slip contest.Shastri was quick to praise the quality of play as well as Parag’s composure, sharing his reaction on Instagram.“Simply one of the best games in IPL history. Archive this one! Riyan Parag you have a streak of steel and a big future ahead of you, especially in a leadership role. Excellent temperament. Well played!”
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Parag later revealed that the call to bowl Archer in the 19th over was influenced by Dhruv Jurel, who had earlier played a crucial hand with the bat.“I actually wanted to change the order, but credit to Jurel – he asked me to go with Jofra in 19th,” he said, highlighting how that early suggestion affected the outcome of the match.
