Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan were in fantastic form for Gujarat Titans (GT) as they defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five wickets in Match 40 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on Wednesday. The all-rounders smacked unbeaten knocks as GT reached 199 for five in 20 overs, crossing the target of 196 runs. Tewatia registered 40 runs off 21 balls (four fours and two sixes) and Rashid hammered 31 runs off 11 deliveries, including four maximums.
The game got tense as Gujarat were at 140 for five in 16 overs before Tewatia and Rashid staged a thrilling comeback with the Afghan sending Marco Jansen for three huge sixes in the last over to lead his side to victory. Such were the emotions involved in the final over that GT skipper Hardik Pandya started getting ready for a Super Over but was calmed down by head coach Ashish Nehra.
Speaking to Rashid and Tewatia on IPL’s official website, Pandya said, “I’ve started watching the matches as a neutral nowadays. Neither I’m too happy, nor too sad, because my behavior will have an effect on the dugout as well. But in all games, I and Ashu pa (Ashish Nehra) feel ‘this game is getting tighter’.”
Pandya also revealed that as Tewatia sent back his thigh pad, it further made Hardik think that the batters are going for a Super Over.
He stated, “I was getting ready for Super Over but Ashu bhai said, ‘Hey, hold on! We are finishing this here only’. You (to Tewatia) sent the thigh pad back and I thought, these guys are going for Super Over!”
Promoted
Explaining why he sent back his thigh pad, Tewatia revealed, “I thought, if the bowler bowls a yorker, Rashid bhai will play the shot that he usually plays through the middle of his legs towards square boundary. I thought that if it is not a six, I have to run no matter what. But Rashid bhai did it.”
After the win, Gujarat went top of the IPL 2022 Points Table with 14 points from eight games (seven wins and a defeat). In their upcoming game, Gujarat are up against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Topics mentioned in this article