RR vs DC, IPL 2024: 'He's matured a lot' - Steve Smith all praise for Riyan Parag after his match-winning 84*

Australian batter Steve Smith heaped praise on Rajasthan Royals (RR) star batter Riyan Parag for his maturity followinganimpressive 45-ball 84* against Delhi Capitals (DC) in match 9 of IPL 2024, on Thursday (March 28). Being asked to bat first, at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur, RR were in a spot of bother at 36 for 3 but the 22-year-old took his side to a competitive 185 for 5 before Sanju Samson & Co. restricted DC to 173 for 5. Parag ended as the Player-of-the-Match.

Smithcredited Parag for resorting to smart cricket and rebuilding the RR innings when they had lost three earlywickets. The Assam batter started slowly, scoring a run-a-ball 26, before pressing the accelerator and adding58 offthe next 19 deliveries. His inning was laced with 7 fours and 6 sixes, at 186.67, and he even slammed South African pacer Anrich Nortje for 25 runs off the last over, including 3 fours and 2 sixes. Thus, the former RR captain Smith appreciated Parag's approachfollowing RR's secondwin in IPL 2024.

Speaking on Star Sports, Smith said, "Yeah, I think he's matured a lot, and I think just the way the innings was constructed, he took the pressure off early by just knocking it around, playing really smart cricket, building a few partnerships after the loss of 3 wickets. And then just set a really strong foundation to go hard at the back end, and when he decided to pull the trigger, he did it to effect and connected with the middle of the bat consistently, getting them up to 185."

He further added, "Just getting back to that last over (on Parag's onslaught versus Nortje), if they (DC) had only given 10 runs it would be a completely different story. The ability to chip one of the best bowlers in the world out of the park changed the whole complexion of the game."

Talking about Parag, he debuted in IPL 2019 and has been part of the RR franchise since then. While he started off positively, he has been criticised a lot for his inconsistency over the years.However, the right-hander has always been backed by the Rajasthan franchise. He has started this year's IPL with a bang, with a 29-ball 43 and unbeaten 84. Many believe this could be his breakthrough season, having also scoreda plethora of runs in the domestic circuit.

Talking about Delhi's186-run chase, Rishabh Pant & Coended with 173 for 5 with David Warner (34-ball 49) andTristan Stubbs (23-ball 44) to lose their second straight game.

On the other hand, RR now have two back-to-back winsand are placed second in the points table with four points.