Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Steve Smith was all praise for one of the most unexpected, dramatic turnarounds in the field of cricket involving Rahul Tewatia after his team's four-wicket win in the high-scoring encounter against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Sharjah this Sunday (September 27).
Chasing a massive 224 in Match 9 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, Smith took a gamble of sending all-rounder Tewatia after he himself (50) and in-form Sanju Samson (85) had helped RR reach 100 inside 9 overs.
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For a while, the move looked costly, as Tewatia struggled to put the ball off the square. But then, the left-hander struck six sixes off the last eight deliveries of his innings, including five in the 18th over by KXIP left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell, to end with a 31-ball 53 not out and stole victory for his team from the jaws of defeat.
"What we have seen from Tewatia in the nets is what we saw in that Cottrell over. I told someone as long as he gets one, the floodgates will open. He showed heart. He told me during the timeout we still believe [in getting over the line]," said Smith at the post-match presentation ceremony, vindicated eventually over the still surprising call to send Tewatia when he did.
While Tewatia's blitz will remain a talking point, the game for RR for the second time in a row in Sharjah was set-up by Samson's brilliance at No.3.
The batting prodigy was once again classical with his strokeplay and the shape he held while hitting. His innings, where he looked like sailing past the 100-mark easily, was adorned with 4 fours and 7 sixes.
"Sanju is striking the ball cleanly all over the ground. [He is] Taking pressure off everyone. We will have to adapt to the bigger grounds, but these shots would clear everywhere," said Smith.
The skipper also justified his decision to bowl first after winning the toss.
"Generally it gets wetter (dew) so I thought we were in with a chance at the halfway mark. A lot of sixes hit here. We gave ourselves the chance. Yeah good to get over the line. The bowlers did a great job to pull it back. It looked like we would be chasing 250," he concluded.
(Inputs from Sportstar)
