NEW DELHI: Former Indian captain and cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has heavily criticized Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag for a critical tactical blunder that cost his team the match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday. Terming the decision as "suicidal," Gavaskar pointed out that Parag's choice to hand the 18th over to part-time spinner Donovan Ferreira completely altered the course of the game.
Chasing a target of 194, the Delhi Capitals needed 35 runs from the final three overs. At this tense juncture, Parag tossed the ball to Ferreira, who ended up conceding 16 runs, including two massive sixes. This expensive over significantly eased the pressure on the DC batters, who comfortably chased down the target to hand RR their third consecutive defeat of the IPL 2026 season.
Speaking on the post-match broadcast, an unforgiving Gavaskar questioned the logic behind the move. "Handing the ball to Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over was a suicidal move. You are bringing a slow bowler on a pitch offering him no help. It was his first over of the match. Furthermore, he had scored a golden duck with the bat. Sometimes you must look at where the luck is going that day," Gavaskar remarked.
He emphasized that handing such a high-pressure over to a player devoid of confidence was a massive miscalculation. Despite half-centuries from Dhruv Jurel and Parag himself, Rajasthan's momentum was earlier derailed by DC's Mitchell Starc, who claimed a stunning over hat-trick. Gavaskar concluded that Parag should have trusted a regular, frontline bowler at the death, regardless of the potential run leakage, rather than taking an unjustifiable gamble.