Rajasthan Royals’ captain Riyan Parag (AP Photo)

Riyan Parag did not hold back after Rajasthan Royals’ five-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in a crucial IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, openly admitting that his side let the game slip from a winning position. RR were firmly in control at 160 for 2 in 14 overs, and looked set for a total in the 220–230 range, but a dramatic collapse triggered by Mitchell Starc’s four-wicket burst saw them finish at 193 for 8. Delhi Capitals then chased it down in 19.2 overs. Parag, who led from the front with a fluent 51, pointed to the middle and death overs as the turning point. “Pretty much everything, actually. We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn’t capitalise on that. It had to be 220-230, something like that,” he said. He also defended his tactical call to bring Donovan Ferreira into the attack during the middle overs, a move that did not yield results. “Ferreira wasn’t a gamble. I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but then you’ve got two left-handers. I’d rather bowl Donovan, take a chance, than get Shanaka to bowl another over. Didn’t really work out.” Parag was equally critical of RR’s overall execution, especially in the field. “Very poor. I feel if you want to win a trophy, if you want to be contending every single year, you’ve got to be better than what we’ve done today. Extremely disappointed.” He also pointed to a worrying dip in standards over recent games. “I feel we are a way better team than what we’ve played or shown in the last 4–5 games. But today… energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, it is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn’t be in contention for the top 4.” With RR still in the playoff race but under pressure, Parag made it clear there can be no reliance on other results. “That is not how I like to lead… We’ve had the opportunity, we’ve not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it’s our fault. No one else’s.” Earlier, KL Rahul (56), Abishek Porel (51), Axar Patel (34*) and Ashutosh Sharma guided DC to victory after Starc’s match-turning spell had broken RR’s strong start.