Gavaskar Slams Parag for Reckless Dismissal in Crucial IPL Qualifier

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his disappointment over Rajasthan Royals (RR) youngster Riyan Parag's reckless dismissal in the crucial IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). Parag's dismissal proved to be a turning point in the match, as SRH went on to win by 36 runs and advance to the final.

Chasing 176, RR struggled to score boundaries, and Parag's dismissal in the 13th over was a major setback. Parag scored just six runs off 10 balls before being dismissed by SRH's impact substitute Shahbaz Ahmed.

Gavaskar, who was on commentary duties, was critical of Parag's approach, saying, "Seriously, seriously? What's the use of all the talent if you are not going to think? What kind of shot is that, seriously? So much talent. If you don't have the temperament, it won't work. So what if you had a few dot balls? You can still make up for it."

Parag's dismissal sparked an RR collapse, as SRH took three wickets in the space of 15 balls. RR could not recover from the setbacks and eventually lost by a significant margin.

Shahbaz was the star of the show for SRH, scoring 18 runs and taking 3-23. He was named player of the match, and SRH skipper Pat Cummins credited coach Daniel Vettori for the decision to bring Ahmed in as an impact substitute.

Earlier, Sunrisers, who had racked up record IPL totals of 277 and 287 this season, lacked firepower in their batting until Heinrich Klaasen boosted the score with his fourth fifty of the season.

Rajasthan's Trent Boult made early inroads, but Avesh Khan's two wickets in two balls put Hyderabad in a difficult position. However, Klaasen's 50 off 34 balls helped SRH reach a respectable total of 175/6.

Tags: #IPL2024, #RajasthanRoyals, #SunRisersHyderabad, #RiyanParag, #SunilGavaskar