'Perfectionist' Parag says RR could have performed better against SRH in Eliminator: 'We should have gotten...'

Rajasthan Royals produced a comprehensive performance with bat as well as ball to thrash Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in their Eliminator face-off in New Chandigarh on Wednesday, keeping their Indian Premier League campaign alive in the process.

Powered by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's explosive 29-ball 97 and Dhruv Jurel's 20-ball half-century, RR posted a mammoth 243/8 on the board after being asked to bat by RR. Lead pacer Jofra Archer then struck thrice during the powerplay, reducing the Sunrisers to 57/4 and virtually sealing the contest in his team's favour.

Pat Cummins' men managed to drag the game all the way to the final over, much like Gujarat Titans against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala on Tueday, eventually getting bowled out for 196.

Captain Riyan Parag, however, playing down the dominance of their win, which sets up a Qualifier 2 showdown against GT at the same venue on Friday, calling himself a "perfectionist" and stating that the Royals should have had 250 on the board.

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"Yeah, a good game. Again, I think I like to be a perfectionist. I know it's not going to be a perfect game altogether. But even today, we should have gotten 260, right? So a bit to work on that. How to finish off innings after we get a start like Vaibhav did," Parag, who had blasted his teammates after their recent defeat in Delhi, said during the post-match presentation.

"But with the ball, I think I was really impressed. I think we held our calm. They got a lot of runs in the second over or the first, once Ishan and Travis added a few boundaries, but I think we came back really well and a good performance altogether," the Rajasthan skipper continued.

Parag reveals leaving Sooryavanshi alone, letting him 'have fun'

Parag was also asked about his conversations with Sooryavanshi, who broke Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in an IPL season during his knock and fell narrowly short of smashing the fastest ton in the tournament's history.

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"That's the thing, we don't have any conversations," Parag said in response.

"Yeah, just leave him alone, let him go and have fun. He likes batting, like I've said before, so we get him a lot of batting practice at the nets and stuff like that. And then he goes out and does his thing," the Assamese batter added.

With their commanding victory at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium on Wednesday, RR also snapped their six-match losing streak against SRH that included a 36-run loss in their Qualifier 2 clash in 2024.