RR players mentally disturbed? Riyan Parag drops big statement on Rahul Dravid's coaching staff

Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) locked horns with the Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 42nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Rajasthan Royals lost the match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 11 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday, April 24.

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We did really well with the ball - Riyan Parag

Opting to bowl first in the match, Rajasthan Royals stopped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 205/5 with Sandeep Sharma (2/45), Jofra Archer (1/33), and Wanindu Hasaranga (1/30) picking up the wickets.

Chasing the target, Yashasvi Jaiswal played an explosive innings at the top while Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel chipped in with crucial runs, but RR once again bottled the run-chase and got restricted to 194/9.

Speaking after the match, Riyan Parag said that they did a good job with the ball but didn't show enough intent with the bat. He said:

"We did really well with the ball. I thought it was a 210-215 wicket, we held them back really well. Halfway through our innings, we were in the driver's seat. We've got ourselves to blame. Didn't show enough intent against spinners."

It does play a part but support staff has given us a lot of freedom - Riyan Parag

Riyan Parag admitted that mentally, they have faced trouble while chasing targets, but revealed that the Rahul Dravid-led coaching staff has given them a lot of freedom.

"(How much of it is mental?) It does play a part, but support staff has given us a lot of freedom, and the onus is on us to go ahead and show that freedom and play freely. It's a tournament where if you make a slight mistake, you'll pay for it," Riyan Parag said.

"We speak a lot as groups. We try to be very honest with our conversations about how everyone was feeling in different situations. We've spoken about situations like this, just couldn't execute it tonight," he added.

In the end, Riyan Parag said that they will now play for pride as they have got a lot of people supporting them. He elaborated:

"We've got to play for pride now. There are a lot of fans who support us. There are a lot of people who work really hard for us to come out here and play in a tournament like this. Have got to do it for them. Have to be very grateful and honoured to play this game and play for this franchise and we've got to show it next time we play."

How did RR perform in the previous IPL match against RCB?

On April 13 in Jaipur, Rajasthan Royals (RR) faced a loss by nine wickets against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 28 of IPL 2025.

RR were invited to bat first and started the innings cautiously. Sanju Samson got out in the 7th over after playing a poor knock of 15 runs in 19 balls, but Yashasvi Jaiswal displayed maturity and slammed 75 off 47 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes.

Riyan Parag also struggled to get going and only managed to score 30 off 22 balls before falling in the 14th over, while Dhruv Jurel's 35* runs off 23 helped RR push to the total of 173/4 in their 20 overs.

Defending the score, the Rajasthan Royals looked awful with the ball. Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tushar Deshpande, and Maheesh Theekshana all went wicketless as RCB chased down the target in just 17.3 overs. Only Kumar Kartikeya managed to get a wicket by dismissing the dangerous Phil Salt for 65. But by then, the damage was done.