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He should drop himself first


Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag’s lean run with the bat continued in IPL 2026. The right-handed batter managed to score just 19 runs off 20 balls during his scratchy knock against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Wednesday, April 22.

RR were in trouble early, losing three wickets in the powerplay after being put to bat first. The onus was on Parag to bail his team out of trouble. His form had been under scrutiny after a string of disappointing performances.

However, the 24-year-old failed to redeem himself. He perished while playing the helicopter shot off pacer Prince Yadav’s bowling in the ninth over. The talented batter failed to middle it and was caught at long-on by Nicholas Pooran.

Parag has scored just 81 runs across seven innings at a strike rate of 117.39 and an average of 13.50. Several fans trolled him after yet another poor outing. Here are some of the top reactions on X:

@CricCrazyJohns Bro wants to play an helicopter shot but engine failure came out of now where 😭

@CricCrazyJohns If Parag really wants RR to win the upcoming matches, he should drop himself first

The only player they need to drop is Riyan Parag @ParagRiyan #LSGvsRR

Riyan Parag-The Batter was Just One Season Wonder

Riyan parag overconfidently played dot balls instead of rotating strike, finally got out. Big relief for RR fans and their blood pressure #LSGvsRR

Riyan Parag and Co. kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign with a four-match unbeaten streak. However, they have suffered defeats in their last two fixtures, losing to SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

LSG in commanding position as Shimron Hetmyer departs soon after Riyan Parag’s dismissal

Shimron Hetmyer gave RR some hope with his attacking approach after Riyan Parag’s wicket. The southpaw slammed one six and two fours against speedster Mayank Yadav in the 10th over.

However, the dangerous batter was back in the pavilion in the very next over. Hetmyer attempted to tuck a short-ball from left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan on the leg side. Hetmyer got a leading edge as he closed the face of his bat early. Prince Yadav completed the catch to end the RR star’s 22-run knock off 18 balls.

At the time of writing, RR were 116/6 after 17 overs with Ravindra Jadeja (18* off 19) and ‘Impact Player’ Shubham Dubey (2* off 3) at the crease.