Rajasthan Royals (RR) spearhead Jofra Archer smiled friendly at his England teammate Sam Curran. But the young Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hitter had nothing to be pleased with as 140 km / h more deliveries whizzed past his bat. It touched 149 km / h.
What followed in the second final is the one that pleases Indian cricket beyond IPL. Kartik Tyagi, 19, is the last of the country’s fast bowling alley. Like Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi from the 2018 U19 World Cup winning team now with Kolkata Knight Riders, Tyagi also shoots 140 km / h or more. He took 11 wickets at the 2020 Youth World Cup, where India was runner-up. (Total IPL coverage 2020)
Like Nagarkoti and Mavi, Tyagi has also dealt with injuries, an unwanted ally of true rapids who want to let him break before their bodies are fully developed. Alto, with a smooth action of hitting the deck, the bowler from the city of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh also told Shane Watson after the seasoned Australian hit a short ball. He had his man two balls later, drawing the move to get caught in the midwicket.
In his debut season, Tyagi’s wicket in each of his six games makes an impressive list: Quinton de Kock (MI), Shimron Hetmyer (DC), Jonny Bairstow (SRH), Shreyas Iyer (DC) and Virat Kohli ( RCB), the latest victim, on Saturday.
Still, Tyagi is a sideshow. It’s been hard to believe how star-studded RR had managed to get stuck at the bottom of the points table entering a game that no team could afford to lose. After CSK was limited to 125/5, Jos Buttler stepped up, producing a brilliant undefeated 70 (48b, 7×4, 2×6) on difficult field, leading RR to a seven-wicket victory in 17.3 overs. Their unwavering 98-run position saw them pass Smith 26 without losing.
He raised RR to fifth place in the rankings. CSK, stuck at six points, can go as low as 14 points at best, which seems unlikely to win them a playoff spot.
MS Dhoni won a good pitch on the slow Abu Dhabi pitch and hit, but leg spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia gave away just 32 runs in eight overs, while CSK played a whopping 51 dot balls (8.3 overs).
Even the modest total was due only to the stamina of 51 races between Ravindra Jadeja (35 *) and Dhoni (28). He looked impressive when Deepak Chahar took out Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson and Josh Hazlewood got Robin Uthappa during the power play phase.
RR was set at 51/3, though Buttler and a vigilant Captain Smith were installed. Buttler, with his left hand bandaged, had left Samson. A brilliant catch to land Faf du Plessis marked his first outing, and he played a standout inning.
Smith dropped anchor while Buttler consistently scored. CSK’s hopes were dashed when Buttler hit leg pitcher Piyush Chawla for three fours to milk 16 runs in the 15th, effectively sealing the game.
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