Former India great Sunil Gavaskar has heavily criticised Riyan Parag’s decision to hand the ball to Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over during the Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) defeat at the hands of the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, May 17. 

Before the start of the 18th over, DC needed 35 off the three overs, with RR firmly in the driver’s seat to seal the win. Ferreira’s over, however, went for 16 runs, with both Axar Patel and David Miller scoring a six each to reduce the equation to 19 runs needed off 12 balls. 

Gavaskar questions Parag for bringing in a bowler who had no service off the pitch, whilst not bowling earlier in the innings as well. The South African also had a day to forget with the bat, getting out for a golden duck, which would have hampered his confidence. 

"Handing the ball to Donovan Ferreira to bowl the 18th over was a suicidal move. You are bringing a slow bowler on a pitch offering him no help. He was just bowling in the slot. It was his first over of the match. He had also scored a golden duck with the bat. Sometimes you must look at where the luck is going that day," Gavaskar said on JioStar. 

Gavaskarsuggested that the RR captain could have used a frontline bowler in place of Ferreira to give themselves a better chance of defending the total. Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka still had one over left and had gone for 29 runs from three overs, while also taking the wicket of KL Rahul.

"If he had scored 40 or 50 runs and was high on confidence, giving him an over would have made sense. But he got out first ball, and you still gave him the ball. He went for 16 runs in that over, and the match was gone. Done and dusted. Riyan Parag could have handed the ball to a proper bowler, a regular bowler. Even if that bowler gave away 20 runs, that's not the point. The point is that at that crucial stage, giving the ball to Donovan Ferreira was a suicidal decision by Rajasthan Royals,” Gavaskar added. 

The defeat has hampered RR’s chances of qualifying for the playoffs, whilst also taking a hit on their net run-rate. Following their loss to DC, the 2008 champions are languishing in sixth place in the points standings, with 12 points from as many matches played. Parag’s side are once again in action on Tuesday, when they take on the Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Match 64.