No need to think, just hit sixes- GT star Rahul Tewatia recalls exciting last-ball finish vs PBKS

Rahul Tewatia’s two sixes on the final two balls and Shubman Gill’s magnificent 96 off just 59 balls helped Gujarat Titans in defeating Punjab Kings by six wickets at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday. GT became only the third team in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to win their first three matches in the debut season.

The on-strike batsman Rahul Tewatia arrived in the very last over and hit two sixes off Odean Smith, recalling the legendary MS Dhoni’s rare feat. It is a tough task to pull off an incredible performance like this, but Tewatia kept things simple, which helped him claim victory. Tewatia (13 not out off 3 balls) played just three balls and scored an unbeaten 13 at a strike rate of 433.33 to pull off a target of 190.

“I planned against Smith. The last ball was off the middle of the bat, and I knew it was six. The first ball he bowled was wide outside off, and so I thought the last ball was going to come there too,” explained Tewatia.

When Gill questioned Tewatia on the 190-run target, the batter added, “For once, we thought that Punjab Kings would score 200 runs but our bowlers made an excellent comeback. I thought it was chasable.”