Parag broke into a traditional Assamese dance after breaking a six to end RR’s losing streak © BCCI
‘Doing a Tewatia’ is a phrase that has become part of cricket pop culture for the past two weeks. It simply refers to a remarkable change, when a cricketer changes a seemingly impossible situation. By that metric, Rahul Tewatia didn’t exactly ‘do a Tewatia’ on Sunday (Oct 11), but he was available to play a starring role in another heist by the Rajasthan Royals.
As for the equation, the task was not as difficult as the demons, personal and opposition, defeated Kings XI Punjab more than two weeks ago. The circumstances were different and so were the challenges. But this time, however, he had someone equally impressive at the other end.
This was an extremely important game for Riyan Parag. After impressing in his role as a finalist at IPL 2019 for the Royals, he was touted as someone to be reckoned with. At just 17 years old last year, Parag showed a maturity that belied his age and landed some useful blows. However, the golden boy Parag quickly became the Parag scapegoat at the start of the 2020 IPL as the Royals went from one defeat to the next.
Not that the Royals didn’t suddenly qualify him. In fact, they see great potential in investing in Parag in the future. He is involved in most of their marketing campaigns alongside the big names. Their popularity saw an increase in the Royals fan base in the Northeast, a region where cricket plays a secondary role in soccer most of the time, so the franchise wanted to tap into that potential for a large market by having Success in your application to play a couple of home games in Guwahati.
However, four successive defeats in the current campaign forced them to press the panic button and the ax fell on Parag. It was due to the fact that the Royals have stuck to some of their plans this season. They want to give their best hitters every opportunity to face the majority of the 20 overs available. They surprised at the start of the tournament when Steve Smith continued to start alongside Jos Buttler. And on Sunday, it was Ben Stokes who fit squarely into that role in his first game of the season.
While the move is positive and the reason behind it is understandable, the Royals can’t afford to have some of the other teams in the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders have Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell to finish their innings. The Mumbai Indians have Kieron Pollard and the Pandya brothers. The Royals have had Robin Uthappa, an inexperienced Tewatia and Parag to take on the final tasks.
Against Royal Challengers Bangalore last week, Buttler, Smith and Sanju Samson returned to the pavilion within the first 25 entries of the contest. Three days later, Smith and Samson had left at the end of the third and on Sunday, the three overseas bigwigs were fired again in the power play, leaving that young middle order to rescue next door.
Already in low spirits, a fifth loss in a row was at stake against a bowling attack that has slowly regained its status as one of the best in the competition. When Tewatia joined Parag in the middle, the Royals needed 81 runs of the last 8 overs of the chase. Two of them were to be launched by T Natarajan and Rashid Khan, who had already chosen two terrains, had one up his sleeve. The launch was slow and did not allow the line to be crossed as easily as Sharjah’s did. But after 19.5 overs, it was Parag who broke into a traditional Assamese dance in celebration after breaking a six to end RR’s losing streak.
The maturity that deserved much praise almost 18 months ago stood out again in times of trial. Not even a limit attempt was made for the first three overs in that association, as the same 18-year-old braced himself for the deep chase. “When I got in at bat, after a few balls, I had a clear mind that I wanted to go after the end of 16,” he said after the game. “Rashid was bowling well, the spinners were doing well, the wicket was also slow. We just had to target the fast players and the plan worked perfectly.”
After receiving a reprieve earlier in the finale, Parag finished the 15th with his first cap of the day: a six-over deep midwicket. The plan was clear. The pair target the closers with the threat of Rashid looming. Sandeep Sharma pitched on 17 and the duo took advantage again. While Tewatia broke a six, Parag hit four in a row to turn on the heat. The equation suddenly read 36 of 18 and the Royals were back on the hunt. With confidence now overflowing, Tewatia did more damage and surprise by facing Rashid for three consecutive limits.
Tewatia had asked Parag to hit her against the leg shooter so she could take a chance and the move worked perfectly. Tewatia made it much easier in the next over by also facing Natarajan with Parag ending the chase in the final over. In the end, Tewatia grabbed the spotlight for his encore, but not many would have realized that Parag marginally outperformed the southpaw in terms of strike rate while scoring nearly identical runs.
“He was magnificent,” skipper Smith said after the game in Parag. “It wasn’t the easiest wicket. It was a bit slow and the boundaries of the square here are pretty big too. He was busy at the beginning of his innings, which we wanted him to be. And then we saw how powerful and innovative he is with the different shots he can play. I’m proud of him to be able to come back and score some runs straight away. Hopefully it sets him up for a good finish at this IPL. ”
Smith hopes that victory will prepare the entire team for a good finish to the tournament. He and management may have taught that batting order too much so far. But with Tewatia, and now Parag, proving that they can be trusted, the big hitters at the top can break free of their shackles and do their best.
© Cricbuzz
