"Ek saal ka bandobast ho gaya" - Fans react hilariously to Riyan Parag’s 20 off 12 balls in winning cause vs PBKS

Riyan Parag produced momentum-shifting innings for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a must-win game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday, May 19.

The right-handed batter scored 20 off 12 balls at a strike rate of 166.67, including a couple of sixes and a four.

With 33 required off the last 18 balls, Parag smashed a couple of sixes off consecutive balls after a no-ball error from Kagiso Rabada.

Parag, however, couldn’t finish the game as he was caught by Atharva Taide at point region off the last ball off the 18th over. RR eventually won the game by four wickets to keep their hopes alive of reaching the IPL 2023 playoffs.

Fans came up with a hilarious reaction to Riyan Parag’s innings against PBKS. One user shared a meme that read:

Riyan Parag, however, has so far scored 78 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 118.18 in IPL 2023.

RR beats PBKS to keep IPL 2023 Playoffs hopes alive

A clinical batting performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal helped RR chase down 188 against PBKS on Friday. Padikkal scored 51 off 30 balls, while Jaiswal hit 50 off 36 deliveries. The duo smashed three sixes and 13 fours during their power-packed show.

Shimron Hetmyer then stepped up with 46 off 28, including three sixes and four boundaries. Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel chipped in with 20 (12) and 10* (4) respectively as RR won the game by four wickets with two balls to spare.

Kagiso Rabada emerged as the pick of the bowlers for PBKS with figures of 2/40. Other bowlers settled for one apiece.

Earlier, PBKS posted 187/5 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of the 40s from Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma, and Shahrukh Khan.

For RR Navdeep Saini starred with the ball, returning with figures of 3/40. Trent Boult and Adam Zampa also took one apiece.

RR are currently placed fifth with 14 points in as many games. They are now reliant on RCB and MI’s losses and net run rate (NRR) to stay alive in the race to the IPL 2023 playoffs.

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James has been covering cricket news for Sportskeeda for 3+ years with over 1 crore readership. He has been following the game since 2002 and has not looked back since. A breaking news specialist, he has a previous 3-year work experience at Times of India, English Jagran, NDTV and others, covering all news categories, including sports.

James holds a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and a diploma in Sub-editing and Design which shaped his sports reporting career. During the course of his education, he learned about the 5W1H format, fact-checking, ethics, SEO, pyramid structure, etc, which enable him to produce compelling content for his readers. His exploits in reporting have led him to exclusively cover numerous ICC events and IPL.

James comes from Jharkhand and is highly inspired by legendary India captain MS Dhoni. He is a staunch supporter of the ICT and is loyal towards the CSK. When not immersed in his favorite sport, James likes watching Bollywood songs.

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