India all-rounder Riyan Parag emerged as an unlikely chief destructor with the ball as the national team took on Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Saturday. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis gave the Lankans a fine start, scoring 84 runs for the first wicket before their chase started to fall apart. Riyan Parag, in just 1.2 overs, bagged the important wickets of Kmindu Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka as India bowled out the hosts for just 170 runs, winning the match by 43 runs. After the game, Parag revealed how head coach Gautam Gambhir prepared him for different situations in the match.

In a video shared by the BCCI, Parag featured with skipper Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Axar Patel. It was in the video that Parag revealed the chat he had with Gambhir about his bowling, especially in certain zones of the game.

“I love bowling. I bowl as much as I can behind the scenes. At the nets, there was a lot of communication regarding where to bowl and how to bowl. There were preparations for such situations with Gautam sir. If I get bowling in the 16th and the 17th over and the wicket is spinning, then where I have to bowl. The boys made it easier for me, I just had to bowl stump to stump, and the ball was turning as well,” Parag said in the video.

Showcasing some of #TeamIndia‘s stars from first T20I #SLvIND | @surya_14kumar | @akshar2026 | @ParagRiyan pic.twitter.com/LRG1ZiIiQa

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2024

Suryakumar also hailed Riyan’s efforts with the ball, saying that the Rajasthan Royals star has an X-factor.

“This could be a Riyan Parag special only as I have seen him bowling earlier as well during the IPL, at the nets. During the press conference as well, I said that Riyan Parag has an ‘X’ factor,” Suryakumar said in the video.

“If batters continue to bat like that and the bowlers will continue helping like that on the ground, then my job will get easier. What the situation was, I set the tempo of the game with my batting. We have so much depth in batting, they have so much skill that if our skill doesn’t work then the others will take care of things.”

Suryakumar also lauded the batting unit, keeping his fingers crossed about such performances to continue.

“Not a captain, I want to be a leader. It is good to see so much support in this country as well. Sri Lanka is just two-and-a-half hours away only, feels like we are playing in India only. I hope we keep getting the support like this, and the rest we will take care,” he added.