IPL 2020, RCB vs RR: Rahul Tewatia took a nasty blow to his chest when he was knocked down by a beamer from Navdeep Saini in the final over of Rajasthan Royals’ innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi.
Rahul Tewatia hit a 12-ball 24 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday (Courtesy by BCCI)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Rahul Tewatia was knocked down after being hit on chest by Navdeep Saini beamer
- Saini and his RCB teammates immediately apologised to Tewatia
- Tewatia carried on and responded by hitting a huge six that went out of the stadium
Rajasthan Royals became the first team in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 to go past the 50-sixes mark in their 4th match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday. And Royals’ Sharjah hero, Rahul Tewatia was at it again, sending them out of the stands, this time in Abu Dhabi.
Rahul Tewatia came up with a cameo, hitting 24 off just 12 balls as Rajasthan Royals posted 154 for 6 in their quota of 20 overs on a hot and humid day at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Tewatia stitched a partnership of 40 off just 20 balls with Jofra Archer as the Royals got the much-needed momentum to get past the 150-run mark after an ordinary start.
Rahul Tewatia once again showcased why he is one of the toughest characters going around as he smashed sixes in the final over after taking a nasty hit on the chest by a beamer from Navdeep Saini.
Tewatia was taken by surprise as the ball slipped out of Saini’s hands and hit him flush on the chest. Tewatia immediately went down, holding his chest in pain even as the RCB players quickly rushed and checked on him. The physio rushed out to the field but Tewatia quickly got up on his feet and decided to carry on.
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After signaling that he was fine with a thumbs-up signal, Tewatia smashed Navdeep Saini for a huge six, that read 83m, out of the stadium. The next ball also made the journey as Tewatia went across the stumps and flicked it past the deep fine-leg fielder.
Tewatia finished the match with 3 sixes, taking his tournament tally to 11. Tewatia is only second on the list of batsmen with most sixes at IPL 2020 — 5 less than his teammate Sanju Samson.
Tewatia shot to prominence after helping the Royals script one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the IPL. Chasing a mammoth total of 224 against Kings XI Punjab, Tewatia took 18 balls for his first 9 runs. Even as several were writing him off, Tewatia got his timing back and smashed Sheldon Cotrell for 5 sixes in an over to take the team past the finish line.
Thanks to Tewatia and Mahipal Lomror’s knocks on Saturday, Rajasthan were able to post a competitive total after their top-order failed. Captain Steve Smith and Samson failed to get to double-digit scores while big-hitter Jos Buttler failed to convert his start into a big knock.