IPL 2026: I think everyone executed plans really nicely, says RR skipper Parag

Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag hailed his sidersquos collective execution after they crushed Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in their IPL 2026 opening game at the ACA Stadium on MondayldquoI got lucky with the toss but I think the way we executed it we had like a couple of days practice I think before CSK arrived and it was a redsoil wicket but then it was a lot of rain as well so we knew the moisture was going to play a part I think everyone executed plans really nicelyldquoDefinitely like this better A lot of preparation has gone into this I know me being captain is one part which I should be happy about and I should thank the franchise for it but then the goal this year is to win the trophy and weve put in a lot of time towards planning strategizingldquoIve said this in an interview before that we want to be a team that plays smart cricket We want to assess conditions really well and adapt to it and I think that we did that pretty well todayrdquo said Parag at the conclusion of the gameRR bowled out CSK for just 127 before Vaibhav Sooryavanshirsquos fireworks ndash 52 off 17 balls ensured the chase was wrapped up in just 121 overs giving Parag a perfect start to his tenure as fulltime captainParag praised the pace duo of Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger for their fiery spells lauded Sandeep Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja for their control and singled out debutant Brijesh Sharma for his composure in front of a packed Guwahati crowdldquoEveryone who came in Jof and Nandre we expect that from them every single time they were rapid Sandy bhaiya doing his job Jaddu bhaiya coming in I think Guwahati suited him a little bit more Then Brijesh the youngster I think him coming in first game against CSK with the packed crowd what he did was insane so Im really looking forward to the seasonrdquoAsked on his conversations with Sooryavanshi Parag said ldquoWhat I tell him is that youre going to play 14 games and regardless of what goes on in the game it shouldnt bother you What goes around in the media shouldnt bother you You just go out there He loves to batldquoIve made sure Ive told the coaches that he gets as much batting as he wants and he goes and does some things like that So I think me and Dhruv when we were sitting there till the fourth over we were just in awe Like what is happening Like how is he doing this But then Im really happy to have him in my teamWith Jurel coming at three Parag said this is going to be RRs batting order ldquoYes that is what weve been planning on Dhruv comes in at three Hetty Hetmyer bats at five because I think we need that leftyrighty in the later half of the innings as well So hopefully this sticks and we win a few games with this batting lineuprdquo he saidCSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said conditions were tough but stressed the need for improvement ldquoI felt the conditions at the start were really tough especially when facing Jofra and Burger They bowled brilliant lengths and even after that to a mediumpacer it was slightly toughldquoYou could see even the spinners were getting some assistance as well Yes we would have been better in batting we would have taken the game deep showed some batsmanship maybe take the game till 150160ldquoBut nowadays you never know whats a good score so you just have to keep going So I think it just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side So not frustrated at allrdquo he saidAsked on how CSK will reassess the loss as a group Gaikwad said ldquoYou just put it behind and move on Weve got a game in another three days Make sure that everyone is in a good headspace One good thing is a lot of youngsters in the group So probably a nervy start for everyone but good to get a game behind and good to start with lot of mistakesldquoHopefully it will be just improvement after here Im someone whos not a firm believer of going all the way But with the impact player you never really know whats the good score or whats the par score So you dont really often see games going down the line till the 20th over when youre defending 150 160 or 170ldquoSo I think its just about backing yourself backing your game for the batsmen If you have it in your area just make sure you go for it Today it didnt work but we can be better in batsmanship You just have to be positive especially when youre batting first If conditions are good you never know the same batting lineup can put a good scorerdquo he concludedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever