New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag cut a frustrated figure as his side slumped to a five-wicket defeat against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi in the IPL 2026 on Sunday, May 17. RR failed to defend a total of 193 runs to endure their third defeat on the trot as they now stare at the possibility of missing out on a spot in the playoffs.
With three defeats in a row, the Rajasthan Royals are currently in the fifth spot on the points table with 12 points after as many games this season and a net run rate the same as Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are in sixth place with as many points. RR need to win their remaining two league matches to stand a chance at making it to the playoffs in IPL 2026.
On Sunday, RR got off to a good start after being asked to bat first despite losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) early in the innings. A cracking 46 off 21 balls from young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and half-centuries from Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel helped them build the platform for a big total. However, Mitchell Starc picked up a 4-wicket haul to help DC fight back and restrict RR to 193/8 in 20 overs.
Parag led the way with the bat for RR, with a 26-ball 51. However, the visitors lost the plot after the skipper’s dismissal in the 15th over and kept losing wickets at regular intervals to manage only 193/8 despite being 161/3 in the 15th over after Parag’s dismissal. DC rode on half-centuries from openers KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel to chase down the target with 4 balls to spare.
“Pretty much everything, actually (on where RR went wrong). 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. As far as the bowling is concerned, I think we just weren’t there. We weren’t up to the mark. Didn’t really work out. (On the fielding) Very poor. You’ve got to be better than what we’ve done today. Extremely disappointed,” Parag said at the post-match presentation after his side’s defeat against DC on Sunday.
If we play like this, we should be in contention for top 4: Parag
Parag didn’t hold back in his criticism of the falling standards at Rajasthan Royals and said the team doesn’t deserve to be in contention for a spot in the playoffs if they play as they have been. The RR skipper feels the team has not justified its potential in the last few games, which has put them in a tight spot in the race for the playoffs.
“I feel we are a way better team than what we’ve played or shown in the last 4-5 games. I feel what we’ve shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, 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. If we do not qualify, it’s our fault. No one else’s,” Parag added.