To be down and out and to reach the top of the world in a span of few minutes, Rahul Tewatia witnessed it all at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He played a late cameo as Rajasthan Royals pulled off the highest chase in the history of IPL cricket. We take a look at some of the unknown facts about Rahul Tewatia.
Chasing a mammoth total of 224 runs set by Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan were slipping down the trail at one point. With Tewatia promoted to No.4 to play the role of a pinch-hitter against the two leg-spinners – Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin; the batsman struggled to connect his shots.
While Sanju Samson carried the run chase on his own shoulders, Tewatia’s struggled raised the required run-rate. But one wrong decision from Punjab skipper KL Rahul to bring in Glenn Maxwell in the 16th over ahead of Ashwin, who had three overs in hand, changed the plot completely.
Also read: Twitter On Fire As Rajasthan Royals Pull Off An Incredible Heist
Samson smacked three sixes off Maxwell to rejuvenate the run chase before Rahul Tewatia took on Sheldon Cottrell. The West Indies, who had an excellent tournament was reduced to a local bowler as the southpaw struck five sixes off him to close in on the content.
Although he got out after a well-made fifty, Jofra Archer struck two sixes off Mohammed Shami to pull off the heist. Rajasthan Royals now have jumped to the second spot in the points table with four points from two matches.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul added 183 runs for the first wicket to help Punjab post 223 runs. Mayank brought his first century of IPL 2020 while Rahul chipped in a fifty. However, the total didn’t prove enough as Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia pulled off a miracle.
As we celebrate the match-winning knock of Rahul Tewatia; let us take at some unknown facts of the Haryana cricketer:
1. Rahul Tewatia was born on 20th May, 1993 in Sihi, Gurugram in the state of Haryana, India.
2. Rahul Tewatia made his first-class debut in the year 2013 by representing Haryana. In his debut against Karnataka at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium, Tewatia managed only 17 runs from two innings.
3. The all-rounder earned his first IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals in the year 2013.
4. In the next year, the talented leg-spinner was roped in by Kings XI Punjab for 25 lakhs. Rahul Tewatia won himself, Man of the Match award on his IPL debut after a brilliant all-round performance.
5. Rahul Tewatia was one of the most sought after uncapped Indian player at the 2018 IPL player auction. His base price was 10lakhs but was sold at 30 times of his base price to Delhi Daredevils.
