Rahul Tewatia smashed back-to-back sixes against the bowling of Odean Smith. The specialty of these 13 runs in 3 balls was that the team required 12 runs off 2 deliveries. The dashing left-handed batter has now made a habit of giving pain to Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Earlier, when he was a part of the Rajasthan Royals, he had given a lot of heart attacks. PBKS would be shell-shocked as from nowhere they lost a match that they should have won comfortably. RR on the other side would be pumped up as hitting 2 sixes isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
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GT with the bat in hand
The Gujarat Titans were on the chase of a daunting target of 190 runs set by the Punjab Kings. Shubhman Gill laid the platform as he was seen taking responsibility. He didn’t get ample support from the rest of the guys, as the likes of Sai Sudharshan and Hardik Pandya played cameos.
Shubhman Gill played a magnificent knock of 96 runs in 59 balls, which meant that he avoided GT from a collapse, as when you are chasing a big target, you want one of your top-order batters to lay the foundation.
The skipper, Hardik Pandya, played a cameo of 27 runs in 15 balls and took GT one step closer to victory, though, during his dismissal, the team required 18 to win from 5 with David Miller and Rahul Tewatia at the crease.
It looked almost impossible for GT to be victorious, as they required 12 to win from 2 balls. Rahul Tewatia smashed two gigantic sixes and made a statement that he is too good a player to miss out on the Indian squad.
PBKS made a mistake by giving the ball to Odean Smith, as he doesn’t have any experience; Mayank should have shown faith in Rabada. All in all, PBKS should not weep about this loss too much as the IPL is a short-phase tournament where there is less time to ponder on performance.
Read More: Pat Cummins scored an unbelievable 14-ball half-century to win against MI
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PBKS with the bat in hand
Jonny Bairstow was back as PBKS management immediately handed him the cap in place of the dangerous Bhanuka Rajapakse. He, though, had a forgettable outing as he scored 8 runs in 8 balls. In this match, the spectators got to see the brute force of Liam Livingstone.
The English cricketer played a powerful knock of 64 runs in 27 balls. Shikhar Dhawan got a start as he scored 35 runs in 30 balls and was looking quite ominous. The 11th wicket-partnership scored 27 runs as somehow PBKS scored 189-9 and gave a challenging total of 190 runs for GT.
Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers as he took 3 wickets and gave away 22 runs in his 4 over spell. The likes of Shami and Pandya were at the receiving end as the batters didn’t allow them to settle.
The debutant, Darshan Nalkande, made the most of the opportunity as he took 2 wickets, that too on consecutive deliveries.
All in all, GT needs to go back to the drawing board as conceding 190 runs and chasing the target on the final ball is not a sign of a champion side as they need to win matches more convincingly.
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What went wrong for PBKS
Arshdeep Singh went wicket-less but he bowled exceptionally well as he conceded 31 runs in his 4 over spell. He should have been the death bowler in place of Odean Smith, as left-arm pacers have a habit of taking the ball away from the batters.
When you have 190 runs to defend, then you expect your pacemen to do a better job, as only 4 wickets fell, which is not at all acceptable at this level where there is cut-throat competition.
Overall, PBKS needs to think smartly here as they have what it takes to win this tournament. They should not panic as the team is bound to have such games.
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Tewatia, the Destroyer
Rahul Tewatia was pumped up after hitting the winning runs, and why wouldn’t he be as every batter dreams of scoring the winning 6 runs, which indeed is a special feeling.
Tewatia has made a strong statement that he isn’t finished yet. Tewatia would hope that Hardik Pandya uses his spin bowling, which so far has been unused, as his 2 overs are enough to change the momentum of the match.
