A teenager showed the world how to keep calm after being hit on the helmet by a vicious bouncer then almost anchored the chase. Then he became a victim of his own making, getting out in the most devastating manner for a budding cricketer.
Riyan Parag, a 17-year-old prodigious talent, played a mature innings to help Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by three wickets in the 43rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Chasing a 176-run target, some poor shot makings have put the visitors in a precarious position. But Parag held the fort with gutsy 31-ball 47, despite taking a dangerous looking knock from Andre Russell in the 14th over which forced everyone to gather around the youngster from Assam, worried.
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But what left Parag devastated was the manner in which he got out. A hit-wicket when he was three runs short of a fifty and the win within his grasp.
He hit Russell for a six off the fourth ball, over long-on to inch closer to the win. But Russell, a superstar with all the tricks in the book, responded with a well-directed bouncer. Parag went for the pull shot and the ball ruched onto him to brush the glove and the ball went for the boundary. But as completes the swing, the batsman hit his own wickets -- the worst possible to get out. A dead ball, a four and a wicket.
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Earlier, KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik played a captain's knock to return unbeaten on 97 off 50 balls. The highest scorer was Nitish Rana who made 21 off 26 balls.
RR pacer Varun Aaron won the man of the match. The 29-year-old produced figures of 2/20 from his spell of four overs which also included a maiden over.
