Daram Sara: In a unique feat, Rajasthan Royals substitute Riyan Parag scored a record, giving him a place among the legends beside him.
His heroic efforts were futile, however, with the holder Kolkata Cavaliers rider surviving a batting blitz, including a six-game winning streak from Parag, winning high scores in a match on Sunday.
Rajasthan chased 207 and won 71-5, and Parag made an attack. He hit 95 of 45 balls and six sixes in six consecutive legal balls, the first in the IPL.
The 23-year-old Blitz played a wide range between fourth and fifth and sixth points and started hitting five sixths on England spinner Moeen Ali. Then, after his partner Shimron Hetmyer took out one, he hit Varun Chakravarthy's fence.
Parag joins an elite batsman, scoring five sixes in the IPL after Chris Gayle (2012), Rahul Tewatia (2020), Ravindra Jadeja (2021) and Rinku Singh (2023).
Parag led the team without regular captain Sanju Samson, who added 92 shots with Hetmyer, but after they left, Rajasthan ended the tension with a 205-8 record.
Need 22 wins in the finals, Impact substitute Shubham Dubey, a left-handed batsman, hit 2 sixes while Vaibhav Arora beat two, defending three games on the final ball with Jofra Archer's victory as Jofra Archer celebrated.
“I feel sorry for myself going out,” Parag said. “It could be the wrong calculation around me. I should have done it.”
Kolkata continued to hunt for the playoffs with its fifth victory in 11 games. Rajasthan has exceeded its last four games.
The top four teams in the league stage will enter the playoffs.
Andre Russell won for three-time champion Kolkata as he beat Kolkata with 25 unbeaten 57 goals to win 206-4.
