Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021: Rahul Tewatia Celebrates His Maiden Team India Call-up With A Whirlwind 39-Ball 73 Against Chandigarh

A day after he earned his maiden call-up to the Indian T20I team, Rajasthan Royals spin-bowling all-rounder Rahul Tewatia celebrated the same by smashing a whirlwind 39-ball 73 in the ongoing Vijay-Hazare Trophy.

Tewafia, who is playing for Haryana in the Vijay-Hazare Trophy, smoked a scintillating 39-ball 73 against Chandigarh at the Videcon Academy Ground in Kolkata on Sunday. The innings was glittered with four 4s and as many as six 6s.

On Saturday, Rahul Tewatia became one of four uncapped cricketers to earn a call-up to the Indian T20I team. Apart from Tewatia, Varun Chakravarthy and Suryakumar Yadav have also earned a call-up, as did Jharkhand’s Ishan Kishan.

Making his T20I call more special?

Rahul Tewatia vs Chandigarh – 73(39) #VijayHazareTrophy2021 | @rahultewatia02 pic.twitter.com/DwIhx6hlao

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) February 21, 2021

Hailing from the Sihi village in the Northern Indian state of Haryana, Rahul Tewatia made his First-Class debut back in 2013. Tewatia has not enjoyed much success with his state team but it was his stint with Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League where the spin-bowling all-rounder finally got his moment of reckoning.

And, it came under the most arduous circumstances. During Rajasthan Royals’ run-chase of 224 against the KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings, Rahul Tewatia had struggled his way to a 19-ball 8.

As he failed to get boundaries for his team, Tewatia was ridiculed, trolled, and written off on social media. But the left-handed batsman proceeded to script a comeback for the ages by smashing as many as 45 runs off the next 12 deliveries which included five sixes in a single Sheldon Cottrell over, to help his side chase down the record target.

Tewatia proceeded to become a cult hero post that knock and just to prove that it wasn’t a one-off performance, he scripted yet another ‘come from behind’ victory for his side against SunRisers Hyderabad.

Rahul Tewatia contributed with both bat and ball throughout the tournament and was one of the shining lights in another abysmal campaign for the Rajasthan Royals.

Also Read: The World Needs Superheroes Right Now: Graeme Swann Hoping Rahul Tewatia Gets To Feature In England T20Is