At the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30, in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Riyan Parag took the audacious decision to give Sandeep Sharma the vital final over.
After the Rajasthan Royals scored 129/3 in their first 12 overs, CSK decided to bowl first and came back strongly towards the conclusion of the first innings. Only 53 runs were scored by the home team in the final eight overs. With 81 runs off of just 36 deliveries, Nitish Rana shone out for the Royals. Parag had a 28-ball 37 as well. For CSK, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, and Matheesha Pathirana each took two wickets.
Even though Rajasthan continued to take wickets at the other end, Ruturaj Gaikwad kept the CSK innings together. Wanindu Hasaranga, who closed the evening with outstanding numbers of 4/35, took advantage of the right-handed hitter, who left for 63 off 44 balls.
When the Men in Yellow needed to win by 54 runs off the final 25 balls, MS Dhoni moved himself up to the seventh position in the batting order. With CSK supporters cheering, the 43-year-old formed a partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. CSK needed to score 39 runs in the final two overs to win.
Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, and Sandeep Sharma were Parag’s three pacers, and each had one over remaining. At the last minute, Parag gave the ball to Deshpande rather than to the more seasoned bowlers Archer and Sandeep. In the over, Dhoni smashed a four and a six, while the Mumbai bowler gave up three boundaries.
When Archer, who gave up just 13 runs in his first three overs and also took out the dangerous Rachin Ravindra, had an over remaining and 20 runs needed in the final over, Parag decided to toss the ball to Sandeep. Dhoni was dismissed off the next ball by the seasoned bowler after he had began with a wide. Dhoni was dismissed by Shimron Hetmyer’s outstanding catch at deep mid-wicket.
Why did Riyan Parag give Sandeep Sharma the 20th over?
Sandeep’s skill as a bowler in the final overs is undeniable. He can deceive the batsmen by changing his tempo and hitting the yorkers with precision. He has, nevertheless, also had experience ending games against the opposition with Dhoni.
It’s interesting to remember that in Dhoni’s 200th IPL match, Sandeep had protected 21 runs in the final over against CSK in 2023.
Parag, meanwhile, talked about his emotions following his first IPL victory as captain. He also explained why he decided against bowling Archer in the last moments.
(On his feelings following his first victory as captain) took a long time, even though there were just two games. We still believe that we fell short by twenty. We swiftly lost a few wickets (in the middle overs). However, we bowled quite well. After the game, Parag stated, “We had two difficult games, but the conversation was to put those games behind us, come in with a new attitude, and have a good game as a team.
“Just evaluating the situation, fortunately had seven options (Archer didn’t bowl out).” followed my intuition. The runs we were short on are always made up for by fielding. Our fielding coach, Dishant Yagnik, and I are training hard, and it’s paying off,” he continued.
India
