Rajasthan Royals' disappointing defeat against Delhi Capitals on Sunday has put them into huge trouble, as their chances to storm into the playoffs have been complicated. The last few matches have been totally underwhelming for RR in terms of performance, having suffered six defeats in eight games. Though they kicked off their campaign promisingly, racing to five wins on the bounce. Meanwhile, following RR's loss to DC, captain Riyan Parag expressed disappointment over the side's poor fielding.  

"I feel if you want to win a trophy, if you want to be contending every single year, you've got to be better than what we've done today. Extremely disappointed. I feel we are a way better team than what we've played or shown in the last four-five games," Parag said at the post-match presentation.

"But after coming from a break, I feel what we've shown today energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn't be in contention for the top four."

After being asked to bat, RR posted 193/8 in 20 overs following half-centuries from Dhruv Jurel (53) and Riyan Parag (51). But, while defending the total, RR bowlers remained below par in their efforts. The most eye-catching moment came when Parag brought in part-time spinner Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over – a decision that backfired badly with Ferreira leaking 16 runs and swinging the momentum back into DC's favour. 

“We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn't capitalise on that. It had to be 220-230 – something like that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I think we just weren't there. We weren't up to the mark. Ferreira wasn't a gamble. I know, on TV, it looks like a gamble, but then you've got two left-handers [at the crease]. I'd rather bowl Donovan, take a chance, then get Shanaka to bowl another over. It didn't really work out," Parag stated.