Don't need to answer critics: Riyan Parag amid vaping controversy

Jaipur: He may have copped criticism for various reasons of late, but Rajasthan Royals skipper Riyan Parag, who returned to form with a sparkling 90, said he does not need to "answer his critics" but his job is to win matches for his team.

Parag's 50-ball 90 and Donovan Ferreira's brutal 14-ball 47 not out powered RR to 225/6, but they fell short, losing to Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in their IPL match here on Friday.

"I don't think I need to answer any critics or anyone talking about it (vaping). But at the end of the day, my job is to get two points. So, my score and my innings don't really matter if we lose the game," said Parag at the post-match presentation.

Before this knock, Parag had scored 117 runs from nine innings, with his previous best being 29.

If his woeful run with the bat was not enough, he was also caught on camera vaping inside the dugout and was handed a fine of 25 percent of his match fee.

His decision to bat first on a sluggish pitch baffled many, but Parag said they lost the match because of their poor middle-overs bowling.

"I think it was a good score. I thought 200 was a par score here. It was going to slow down a bit, but I think we could have bowled way better in the middle overs, not let them get away a little too much.

"And then a lot of boundaries in one single over and that repeated. So, I felt we missed the trick with that, but no harm with the decision we made," he added.

The RR skipper also had an injury setback and stayed off the field after pulling a hamstring, with Yashasvi Jaiswal taking over the captaincy duties.

"Hopefully it's not too serious, but a little bit on the hamstring. Thankfully, we have about a week break, so we'll clear it out," he added.

RR next face Gujarat Titans here on May 9.

Ticked boxes: Starc

Australia left-arm quick Mitchell Starc played his first game of the season, making a return from a shoulder injury.

Playing his first competitive match after more than three months, Starc was the pick of DC's bowlers, returning with 3/40, including the first-over dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"Nice to get the cobwebs out. Good to get some running in the legs, get some training in. Nice return... I mean I've been bowling for a period of weeks. Haven't bowled at a batter until three nights ago. In terms of ticking the boxes with the skills, I was in a position to do most of what I want to do." For Delhi, the chase was set up by a 110-run opening partnership between KL Rahul (75) and Pathum Nissanka (62) as they snapped their three-match losing streak.

"Some areas we needed to get sharp and crisp, really happy to get this win and really hoping to sting in some wins," said Rahul after winning the player-of-the-match.