"Kept Poking Him, Let Me Hit One": Riyan Parag On How Sanju Samson Kept Him Under Check

Following Rajasthan Royals' (RR) 20-run win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, batting allrounder Riyan Parag said that he developed a few shots while playing alongside skipper Sanju Samson. Parag played a blitzkrieg knock as he scored 43 runs from 29 balls at a strike rate of 148.28. He smashed 1 four and 3 sixes during his time on the crease. Parag revealed that Samson told him not to try any risky shots since the conditions were "little tougher".

"Today when batting with Sanju bhaiya, I had developed a few shots and I was constantly trying to poke him by asking 'Sanju bhaiya, let me hit one' and he was like 'no, no, today's wicket isn't that easy'. Even though we have been practicing here, today was a little tougher, day game, ball keeping low so he was like 'no, no, not right now,'" Parag said.

He added that if Samson was not there then he would have tried playing risky shots. The 22-year-old accepted that in the first ball he was close to getting himself out against Krunal Pandya.

"If I didn't have him there, I would have tried to play that shot, it may or may not have come off, but then that element of risk goes down and you prolong your innings and get your team to a better score. Even if I had got out first ball as I was very close to against Krunal, I will be fine because I did everything right and now this is just results. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't I come back again tomorrow," he added.

Coming to the match, RR opted to bat first. Openers Jos Buttler (11) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (24 in 12 balls, with three fours and a six) departed without making much impact, reducing the team to 49/2. Following that, a 93-run partnership happened between Riyan and skipper Sanju,