IPL 2022, PBKS vs GT: Nothing to think only hitting sixes, says Rahul Tewatia

Gujarat Titan’s Rahul Tewatia saved his side and led the team to victory by six wickets against Punjab Kings in last Friday’s match. GT needed 13 off three balls to win the match, and Tewatia smashed two sixes in the last two balls.

Tewatia’s play in the thrilling match reminded the public of how MS Dhoni hit Axar Patel for two sixes in the last two balls and led the Rising Pune Supergiant to victory in IPL 2016. Moreover, it was not his first time hitting consecutive sixes. During the IPL 2020, Tewatia smashed Sheldon Cottrell for five consecutive sixes and led the Rajasthan Royals to victory.

Batsman David Miller helped Tewatia to secure the victory, and the all-rounder expressed his gratitude to his teammate. "Thanks for the single mili paa," Tewatia tweeted. Miller actually did jam the ball on the fourth ball of the last over where Odean Smith tried to take the game over. Smith’s effort turned out to be an overthrow, which allowed Tewatia to get the strike.

Little did they know, Tewatia and Miller had actually planned to smash Smith. "Amazing feeling. There was nothing to think about! Just go there and hit sixes, that’s what I and David (Miller) were thinking. I planned against Smith,” Tewatia said.

“The last ball was off the middle of the bat, and I knew it was six. The first ball he bowled was wide outside off, and so I thought the last ball was going to come there too. The staff is really chilled here. They just tell us to practice hard.”

How Gujarat Titans defeats Punjab Kings

Due to the unbeaten team, GT started on a disappointing note at the beginning of the game by chasing a total of 189 runs due to the absence of Matthew Wade in the early innings. However, Shubman Gill did not let it go too far and immediately took control. Gill was able to score 96 runs off 59 balls before he got dismissed.

GT’s captain, Hardik Pandya, also helped the team by securing 27 runs off 18 balls. The team ended with 171 runs at the end of 19 overs and needed 19 runs in the final over to win the game. Unfortunately, Pandya got dismissed and GT looked like they were starting to have the game out of hand.

Thanks to Tewatia, GT managed to take over the game once again. As the team needed the last 12 runs from the last two deliveries to win the game, Tewatia struck both of them and led the team to victory. GT’s victory over PBKS granted another winning streak for the team.

Public reaction to Tewatia

Tewatia’s epic play sent the public crazy with praise. The media was flooded with various reactions toward Tewatia. English cricket commentator, Michael Vaughan, tweeted, "No tournament gets close to the drama & finish the #IPL brings... That was ridiculous. #Tewatia." Many other accounts make notable remarks, such as "Tewatia is the Punjab Kings' nightmare" and "Rahul Tewatia...Remember the name."

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