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The youngest player to score a half-century in the history of IPL, Riyan Parag considers his experiences with Rajasthan Royals and the U-19 World Cup as small steps towards achieving his main goal of breaking into the Indian senior team one day.
The all-rounder from Assam played seven games for Rajasthan in his maiden IPL this year, and impressed all and sundry by scoring 160 runs at an average of 40.
"My journey has had a lot of ups and downs. The U-19 World Cup was a really high point in my career and now the IPL. Playing for RR was a different experience all together,” said the youngster.
Parag was part of the India's 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning squad.The young batsman, who held the fort for Rajasthan on Saturday, said it was a difficult Kotla wicket to bat on.
"It was a quite a tricky surface. We thought it will be better to bat first on but the ball was stopping quite a bit and it was turning as well," Parag said.
Rajasthan coach Paddy Upton termed 2019 as a season of missed opportunities for his side.
Delhi Capitals fielding coach Mohammad Kaif praised Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra for their outstanding bowling display on Saturday. Both Ishant and Mishra snared three wickets apiece to rattle Rajasthan.
“Now the way he has repaid our trust is just incredible. It just shows that if you back a player, then the player gets confidence and achieves a lot for the team,” Kaif said
"He has developed a lot of variations. Ishant Sharma is not just a swing bowler any more. He is bowling different types of slower balls, there are the cutters, the slower bouncers -- so it just shows that he has many weapons in his armoury now," concluded Kaif.
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