Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag became the focus of a thrilling IPL 2026 encounter after a decisive late-game call helped his team squeeze past Gujarat Titans by six runs in Ahmedabad. The bold thinking at a crucial moment swung the contest, and it also drew praise from former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
Chasing 211 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Gujarat looked set for a successful run for long stretches of their innings. However, the momentum flipped quickly when Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada unleashed a sharp surge, hammering runs at close to a 200 strike rate and pulling the visitors back into the picture. As the innings tightened, the asking rate reduced to 15 runs from the last 12 deliveries.
With the match in the balance, Parag chose to hand the penultimate over to Jofra Archer. The decision immediately changed the feel of the chase: Archer kept things tight with disciplined lengths and made full use of his pace, leaving the batters little space to swing freely. The over brought only four runs, while Rashid and Rabada were forced to settle for singles and no boundary was allowed, bringing the equation down to 11 needed from the final over.
For the last set of six, Parag backed his next option as he entrusted the ball to Tushar Deshpande instead of leaning on more seasoned choices such as Nandre Burger and Sandeep Sharma. Deshpande repaid that trust with a calm, pressure-handling performance. He consistently landed his yorkers, conceded just five runs, and also removed Rashid Khan, completing a dramatic finish for the Royals after the chase had briefly looked like it was slipping away.
Shastri wasted no time in applauding both the standard of the contest and Parag’s composure. He shared his reaction on Instagram with the message: “Easily one of the best games in IPL history. Archive this one! Riyan Parag you have got ba**s of steel and a big future ahead, especially in a leadership role. Outstanding temperament. Well played!”
After the match, Parag explained that the choice to use Archer for the 19th over was shaped by Dhruv Jurel. Jurel, who had earlier contributed significantly with the bat, suggested the switch at the right moment. “I was actually going to switch the order, but credit to Jurel – he asked me to go with Jofra for the 19th,” Parag said, highlighting how that timely input influenced the outcome.
