WATCH: Riyan Parag mocks third umpire after taking catch; touches ball on ground

Rajasthan Royals thumped Lucknow Super Giants by 24 runs in the 63rd match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The Royals defended 178 comfortably in the end despite the likes of Deepak Hooda and Marcus Stoinis threatening at various stages of the innings. The latter tried to take the game deep and finish it off but he was left a little too much to do in the end.

Stoinis was eventually dismissed in the final over of the innings when he was trying to do the unthinkable, score 34 runs off last six balls. Off the second ball of the over, he was caught at long-on by Riyan Parag which effectively ended the contest in the game.

However, the drama wasn’t over yet. Parag took the simplest of catches and hilariously mocked the third umpire by taking the ball close to the ground and indicating that he caught it well above the ground to be adjudged out.

WATCH: Riyan Parag smashes a six off a 142 kph bouncer from Anrich Nortje; Rishabh Pant keeps watching as the ball sails into the stands

For the unversed, in the 19th over itself, Parag had taken a diving catch and claimed it to dismiss the same batter. However, after watching replays multiple times, the third umpire thought that the ball bounced ahead of Parag and didn’t give it out.

For the same reason, he mocked the TV umpire in the very next over when he took the easiest of catches to send back Marcus Stoinis. 

Here’s the video of Riyan Parag mocking third umpire:

 

Riyan Parag has certainly set the stage on fire with his fielding in this IPL season. He has taken 13 catches that are the most for a non-wicketkeeper player on the field. He rarely drops any catch and has also one Player of the Match award to show for his efforts. The youngster has come into his own in IPL 2022 and would love to continue in the same vein.

As for the Royals, they have now climbed to the second position to more or less seal their position in the playoffs. Having said that, they will be keen on securing the second place to have more than one shot at the playoffs. LSG, on the other hand, slipped to the third place and should win their last league game by a decent margin to make it to number two in the points table.