Always Told Rahul Tewatia He Will Have His Day In The IPL And It Would Be Because Of His Batting: Childhood Coach

Rajasthan Royals’ cricketer Rahul Tewatia rose to stardom as he played a game-changing knock to stun Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah in the ninth match of IPL 2020. Rahul Tewatia’s heroics overshadowed Mayank Agarwal’s century in the first innings and scaled the highest ever run-chase in the history of IPL with four wickets to spare. The 27-year old’s childhood coach has reacted following Tewatia’s innings.

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Rahul Tewatia struggled even to connect the ball at one stage, being at 5 off 14 deliveries. It only increased the pressure on Sanju Samson as the required rate kept on spiralling upwards in pursuit of 224. However, it all changed in the 17th over when the 27-year old stunned Sheldon Cottrell by hammering him for five sixes to get the equation down to 21 off 12 balls. His innings ended with 53 off 31 deliveries, laced with seven sixes. He also took three wickets in the Royals’ first game against Chennai Super Kings.

Vijay Yadav, Rahul Tewatia’s childhood coach, always told him he would have his time and the same will come owing to his batting. Yadav revealed that Tewatia competed with the likes of Amit Mishra and Yuzvendra Chahal, who he felt were more skilful bowlers and believed that the southpaw’s skill was batting with which he could win an IPL game. Vijay hailed Rahul Tewatia as an asset as the batting all-rounder.

“I always told Rahul Tewatia that he will have his day in the IPL and it would be because of his batting. Simple. I told him he will be a useful leg-spinner but Amit and Chahal are more skilful bowlers. His advantage was his batting which was in a different league. I told him that you can win an IPL game with this batting. I told him that white ball was his calling and at the National Under-22, he scored 90 plus on debut in Raipur. He is an asset as a batting all-rounder,” Yadav stated as quoted by News18.

Shane Warne tweets hailing Rahul Tewatia’s performance:

Rajasthan Royals’ brand ambassador and the title-winning captain Shane Warne lauded the 27-year old for displaying the heart, courage, and the ability to dig deep. Warne did not fail to mention Sanju Samson, who clobbered 85 off only 42 deliveries that earned him the man of the match award. Rajasthan Royals are the only undefeated team so far other than the Delhi Capitals in 2020.

What an amazing game of cricket. So many things to talk about. Firstly – what courage and heart shown from Tewatia, especially after his poor start with the bat, well done young man-awesome ! My man @IamSanjuSamson once again-pure class ! Great win @rajasthanroyals wow wow wow !

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) September 27, 2020