Riyan Parag 2.0! Suryakumar Yadav Reveals How RR Star 'Changed' to Smash Unbeaten 84 vs DC

Suryakumar Yadav was left amazed and amused as Riyan Parag smashed a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to single-handedly take Rajasthan Royals to 185/5 against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.

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“Met a guy at NCA few weeks ago. He came with a slight niggle. Completely focused on his recovery and with great discipline working on his skills. And I was not wrong to tell that to one of the coaches there ‘He is a changed guy’ RIYAN PARAG 2.0,” SKY posted on social media.

Parag hit veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje for 25 runs – 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 – in the final over to hit his highest T20 score. His knock was studded with seven fours and six sixes.

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He held the home side’s innings together after they were invited to bat first. He shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.

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“I have put in a lot of practice, I’ve practised against those kind of (bowling of Nortje). I had my options ready for both sides of the wicket – I was backing my strengths, I know I had the power, it’s good when it comes off,” Riyan Parag said at the mid-innings break.

“Sanju (Samson) bhai told me to take it deep, I was confident that I could get a lot of runs. It wasn’t easy for a new batter to come and score, you needed someone to stay until the end. It’s been tough, I’m a bit emotional now, I have worked hard and seeing the fruits of it now,” he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)