It got a little too close for comfort for the Gujarat Titans, who needed the fifth ball of the final over to cross the line in a 154-run chase against the Punjab Kings. Sam Curran dismissed a well-set Shubman Gill off the second delivery after allowing only three runs off his first four deliveries, leaving the Titans requiring four off the final two balls. But Rahul Tewatia’s cool head helped them win, as he hit the winning boundary with a beautiful scoop shot.
The fact that it came down to the last over was due to the Kings’ tight bowling, with Harpreet Brar (1-20) doing a nice job in the middle overs to restrain the Titans, who had a solid start in the powerplay. They reached 56 on the powerplay but only scored 55 runs in the next nine overs, leaving them needing 43 off the final five overs. The Titans were under pressure after Arshdeep did not concede a boundary in the 19th over, but they held their nerve to record their third win in four games.
While praising the Kings bowlers for bringing their team back into the game, Tewatia stated he was well-prepared for the circumstances, despite the fact that the old ball made it harder to find boundaries at will.
“Targets like these can sometimes turn into one-sided games.” Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill got off to a good start, but PBKS came back and bowled well in the middle overs, not conceding boundaries for three or four overs. They deserve credit for bringing it back. It was reversing towards the conclusion, and it became impossible to hit at will. But this is cricket; they fought back strongly, but we finished the game on top,” Tewatia remarked.
“When Shubman got out and was returning, he told me that the ball was reversing slightly.” So getting the information from a set batsman when I was going in to play two-three balls was a fantastic thing. “Knowing ahead of time that the ball would reverse kept me prepared,” Tewatia explained. “I was thinking about two things. The leg side is a larger side, and I believed I could take a couple, but it seemed a little dangerous, and with two deliveries left, I decided that was a better opportunity. The ball was also moving backward. I backed myself up and fired the shot.
Finishing the game is nothing new for Tewatia, who has been doing so since taking over as manager of the Rajasthan Royals. The Titans were victorious in a chase for the 11th time in 12 matches, with nine of those victories coming in the last over. Tewatia, who has been instrumental in the Titans’ success, discussed his preparation for such occasions.
“Nothing happens in an instant. When I was with the Rajasthan Royals in 2020, I was given this duty. There was no confusion when they assigned me to the role. Batting at No. 6 or No. 7…obviously, you have 14 league games and get to bat eight or nine times. It’s a different story if your team crumbles and you get to bat in the tenth or eleventh over. As a result, you usually get to bat just after the 13th or 14th over. I’ve been doing the same thing for the previous three or four years.
“I set goals for myself and play a lot of match simulations to figure out when to take chances and how to finish the game.” The most crucial thing, in my opinion, is to know when to bowl and who to bowl with. “It’s not like you can finish all ten matches in a row, but you will finish the majority of them, as GT has done since last season,” Tewatia said.
