Rajasthan Royals' (RR) captain Riyan Parag explained that the reason behind promoting Ravindra Jadeja above Donovan Ferreira against Delhi Capitals was two fold: one was to bring in a left-right combination and two was to set the base for the finishers to go big against the pacers at the death.
"It was actually lefty-righty as well," Parag said about the decision. "There was what, eight-nine overs to go. We wanted to delay it [entry point] a little bit and just get a few eight-nine [runs] an over from the spinners and then go from ball one when the seamers started to bowl. So I feel that was the plan."
RR were 114 for 3 when they lost Dhruv Jurel in the 12th over. Jadeja's 14-ball 20 helped stitch a 53-run stand with Parag before Ferreira's 14-ball 47 help them plunder 78 in the final five overs and take RR to 225.
It was a total that was 25 above par according to Parag. But RR conceded 114 runs in the middle overs and there were three occasions where they conceded 18 or more in an over. That was the main issue, according to Parag, and not the decision to bat first. DC chased 226, handing RR a seven-wicket defeat.
"I think it was a good score. I honestly felt 200 was somewhere on par. It was going to slow down a bit, but I think we could have bowled, way better in the middle overs, we let them get away a little too much and then a lot of boundaries in one single over and that repeated. So I felt we missed the trick with that, but no harm with the decision we made [at the toss]."
Parag got off the field during the chase for what looked like cramps, and he got a few stretches beyond the boundary. It hasn't created injury concerns though.
"Yeah, hopefully it's not too serious," Parag said, "but, a little bit on the hamstring. Thankfully we've got like a week break, so hopefully I recover."
RR's next game is against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on May 9.
