IPL 2020 | Adaptability shown by âmatch-winnerâ Rahul Tewatia was outstanding, states Sanjay Manjrekar
Rahul Tewatia clinched his second MOTM award on Sunday
|@ IPL T20
Renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar expressed that he was chuffed to see Rahul Tewatia succeed and claimed that the range of hitting the southpaw showcased on Sunday proved that heâs an adaptable batsman. Chasing 159, Tewatia dismantled Rashid Khan to hand RR their third win of the season.
Far too often, heroes in the Indian Premier League go down as âone match wondersâ but on Sunday in Dubai, Rahul Tewatia ensured that he was not going to let âthatâ knock in Sharjah define his career. Chasing 159 on an extremely sluggish Dubai wicket, Rajasthan Royals looked dead and buried when Tewatia walked to the crease with the score 78/5 in the 13th over but, like he did a fortnight ago, the all-rounder, despite the odds stacked against him and his side, refused to give up.
Together with young Riyan Parag, he took the chase deep and with RR needing 36 off the final three, Tewatia decided to cut-loose. In what was a scarcely believable onslaught, the southpaw dismantled SRHâs trump card, Rashid Khan, in the 18th over, and struck a hat-trick of boundaries to all but kill the chase. While it was the mid-wicket slogs that worked for him in Sharjah, here in Dubai, it was the reverse-sweeps and cover-drives that punctured the opposition. Eventually, the 27-year-old finished on 45* to help RR script a famous victory.
There was much to admire in Tewatiaâs knock but according to renowned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, what stood out was the left-handerâs adaptability. Manjrekar described the 27-year-old as a âmatch winnerâ and noted how on Sunday, Tewatia cleverly used the off-side to his advantage in contrast to the Sharjah knock, where everything was an on-side hoick.Â
âIâm so happy for Tewatia. After that âIPL Eventâ when he turned it around after being down in the dumps, good to see him continue with the confidence he got from that match-winning performance. This was not quite the dramatic turnaround, but it shows that this guy can use confidence and serve his team - not just in one game, but more than a game or two,â Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfoâs âT20 Time-outâ.Â
âHe bowled his four overs, his body language changed and the adaptation I saw today was that the last time he hit Cottrell, everytime was leg-side but this time he took on Rashid Khan and everything was on the off-side. So this is a guy who can reinvent himself and play the match-winning innings.â
It is not just Tewatiaâs batting that has stood out as since the Sharjah knock, the all-rounder has also taken his bowling and fielding to the next level. In fact, it was only a few days ago that he bowled an exceptional spell of 1/20 in Sharjah to strangle the Delhi batsmen. Manjrekar observed how Tewatiaâs success story is proof for the fact that confidence can elevate a human being to the greatest of heights.
âThe great learning from Tewatiaâs resurgence is what confidence can do to a person - in life and in sport. In sport, it's visible and in T20 cricket, it's even more dramatic.â
