Riyan Parag
Riyan Parag. Image: BCCI

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Riyan Parag explained the reason to hold leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the slog overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

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On Tuesday, RCB handed Rajasthan Royals their first defeat of this season after a nail-biting finish by Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed to propel their side to a four-wicket win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

RR vs RCB: Yuzvendra Chahal claims 2/15 against old team

RCB’s chase faltered in the middle despite a steady opening stand of 55 runs between Faf du Plessis (29) and Anuj Rawat (26) over seven overs. The openers negated the new ball threat from Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult. As the duo moved swiftly towards their target of 170, former RCB bowler Yuzvendra Chahal got the breakthrough for Rajasthan.

Chahal got the better of the RCB skipper, who miscued a shot down towards long-on and Boult took a comfortable catch to end the stand. In his next over, Chahal first ran out his former RCB teammate Virat Kohli and cleaned up David Willey with his wily leg-break.

Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal and Navdeep Saini. Image: BCCI

In the space of 5.3 overs, RCB slipped from  55 for 1 to 87 for 5 and that is when Karthik joined forces with Shahbaz Ahmed in the 13th over. The duo turned the tables with their brilliants strokes against the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, and Prasidh Krishna. RCB scored 50 runs in the overs between 14-and 16.

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However, when Sanju Samson called Chahal to bowl the 17 over, his final, Karthika and Shahbaz didn’t take any risks against the leg-spinner and just picked four singles in that over. Shahbaz hammered Trent Boult for a six and a boundary before he was bowled by the New Zealand pacer while attempting to play a scoop.

As Shahbaz departed for 45 in 26 balls, RCB were left with 15 to chase in the final two overs. Karthik hit Prasidh for two fours in a row to give the finishing touches to RCB with his breathtaking 23-ball 44, including seven fours and a six.

RR vs RCB: Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed did not take any chances against Yuzvendra Chahal: Riyan Parag

Parag praised the excellent batting of Karthik and Shahbaz that cruised RCB to a four-wicket win against them. The 20-year-old also justified Samson’s decision to bowl Chahal in the slog overs.

“Sanju (Samson) bhai was thinking that we should hold back a wicket-taking option for the end. But Dinesh bhai and Shahbaz did not take any chances in that over bowled by Chahal. They played him really well. It was a mental game and they were too good,” Parag said in the post-match press conference.

Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed
Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed. Image: BCCI

“I think they played really well. DK and Shahbaz took the game away from us. Dinesh bhai was phenomenal. He came in and just took the game away from us. I don’t really think we made a lot of mistakes. I just feel they were better on the given day,” he added. 

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RCB will play their next match against Mumbai Indians on April 9 while RR will meet Lucknow Super Giants on April 10.

Also Read: RR vs RCB: Dinesh Karthik Is As Great A Character As You Can Get – Faf du Plessis