Rahul Tewatia on Sunday (September 27) took the cricket fraternity by storm as he smashed five sixes in an over off Sheldon Cottrell to ensure Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) four-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 9th game of IPL 2020 at Sharjah.
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Chasing 224 to win, Tewatia was earlier struggling to connect the ball after being pushed up the order. But with 51 needed off three overs, the southpaw hit Cottrell for 30 runs in the 18th over to turn the match on its head.
He might have got out in the penultimate over but Tewatia had done his job by then, scoring 53 off 31 balls with seven sixes. Jofra Archer (13 not out) and Tom Curran (4 not out) eventually took the Royals past the finishing line with three balls to spare.
Speaking after the match, Rahul Tewatia said he did not go into Cottrell's over trying to hit 6 sixes but later realised that he could achieve this rare feat.
"No, I did not think that I would be hitting 5 sixes in that over. Later I realised, I could have hit 6 sixes. But I missed it. However, I thought I should get as many runs as possible in that over to get closer," he told Rajasthan Royals.
"At the start, I was not able to hit the ball. They had given me a role and I was under a bit of pressure because I was given the role to target the leg-spinners, I wasn't able to do that," he added.
Earlier, Sanju Samson (85 off 42 balls) and Steve Smith (50 off 27 balls) played scintillating knocks to lead the foundation for Rajasthan’s successful chase.
Tewatia also thanked Samson and Robin Uthappa for giving him confidence while being at the crease.
"Sanju and Robin bhai gave me confidence. I also had the belief that if I connect one hit, I can get going. At Sharjah, I was thinking, even if we need 18-19 in the last 4 overs, we can get them.
"Sanju kept telling me when I was batting with him that if I can get one then I can keep hitting them. He asked me not to panic. He is a senior player at RR and he has seen me over the years. He has been telling me that I could be the game-changer for the team after watching me at the nets.
"After that Robin bhai came, he gave me a lot of confidence. After I hit that six, he told me 'now keep hitting'.
