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Rahul Tewatia, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder, became an overnight star after his sensational performance against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Sharjah on last Sunday. The left-handed batsman etched his name in the hearts of fans, with his match-defining half-century.
Tewatia scored 53 off just 31 balls with the help of seven towering sixes. Though Tewatia had a terrible start as at one point he was struggling on 8 off 19 balls, but the 18th over of RR’s chase changed everything. He took the game away from KXIP by striking five maximums in the 18th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell.
Thanks to Tewatia’s fireworks that Royals chased down the highest target of 224 runs in IPL’s history. Earlier, RR skipper Steve Smith (50) and Sanju Samson (85) laid the foundation of the epic run-chase.
Tewatia mimics Cottrell’s ‘Salute’ celebration
After his heroics at Sharjah, Royals’ official Twitter handle posted a video of the dressing room where Tewatia can be spotted imitating Cottrell’s celebration by doing a salute.
“Straight from the dressing room, into your hearts,” wrote Royals while sharing the video.
In the video, captain Smith can be seen giving an encouraging speech to his troops. He said: “Great win, lads. Sensational effort always kept the belief throughout. Sanju (Sanju Samson) again, another incredible innings mate.”
“Tewatia (Rahul Tewatia) obviously after a bit of shaky start (team laughs), great work stay in there and help get the boys home. You should win the game changer award. Rajpoot (Ankit Rajpoot) and TC (Tom Curran) bowled pretty well,” added Smith.
“Sensational effort, great work, and let’s move on,” concluded the 31-year-old.
Straight from the dres𝓰sing room, into y☂our hearts. 💗
🎥 – Reactions post THAT chase. | |
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals)
Post the game, Tewatia also revealed that he had belief in himself to get his side over the line.
“I was hitting the ball very good in the nets, so I had belief in myself and kept going,” said Tewatia.
“I was not hitting the ball well initially, I saw in the dug-out, everybody was curious because they know that I can hit the ball long. I thought I had to believe in myself. It was a matter of one six; after that, I got going,” he added.
