IPL 2020: RR vs KXIP Review – Tewatia move pays off as RR seal highest-ever run chase

Match 9 of IPL 2020 was all about records in Sharjah. It started with Kings XI Punjab’s Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul smacking 183 runs for the opening wicket. Agarwal scored a 45-ball ton while Rahul got 69 off 54 deliveries. Glenn Maxwell’s 25* off 8 balls then helped KXIP finish on 223/2 after 20 overs to leave RR ruing the decision to bowl first at the toss.

90 minutes later, Steve Smith’s decision didn’t seem so bad. Despite losing Jos Buttler early in the chase, Smith and Sanju Samson kept the Royals in the hunt with their 81-run partnership. But what left many surprised was Rahul Tewatia’s promotion at number four. The decision seemed to have gone wrong for RR until the 18th over when the left-hander smacked five sixes off Sheldon Cottrell to turn the game on its head.

Having scored runs below a strike-rate of 50 until then, Tewatia smashed an unbeaten 53 off 31 deliveries. RR scored 84 runs in less than five overs to gun down the highest chase in the IPL ever.

Turning Points

Rahul Tewatia’s promotion: Tewatia came out to bat four with the team’s score reading 100/2 after nine overs. In the next 7.1 overs, the Royals could only score 61 runs and Tewatia was literally struggling to put bat to ball. His strike-rate was almost below 50 and it put extreme pressure on Samson at the other end. With 64 runs needed in the last four overs, Samson got out and from here on, things turned for good for the Royals.

What appeared to be the worst tactical blunder in the IPL suddenly turned out to be the master-stroke. Tewatia finally put bat to ball in the 18th over and much to KXIP’s agony, he smacked five sixes in an over. The game turned on its head and the left-hander’s 53* off 31 balls helped RR pull off the heist in the end.

Top performers

Records/Personal Milestones

• Rajasthan Royals pulled off the highest successful chase ever in the history of IPL by chasing down 224 runs. They broke their own record in this aspect when they had chased 216 against Deccan Chargers in the inaugural season in 2008.
• Mayank Agarwal slammed the second-fastest IPL century by an Indian in the IPL ever. He went past Murali Vijay who had scored a 46-ball century against RR in 2010. Yusuf Pathan is at the top of the charts with a 37-ball ton for RR against MI, also in 2010 season.

Way Ahead

After playing such a high-scoring game, the Royals will next face the Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on September 30. KXIP will lock horns against the Mumbai Indians on October 1 in Abu Dhabi.

Moment of the match

This is the best save I have seen in my life. Simply incredible!! ?#IPL2020 #RRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/2r7cNZmUaw

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 27, 2020

While it continued to rain sixes in Sharjah, one man ensured the focus shifted on him for his splendid effort on the field. In an attempt to save one of the many sixes hit by the RR batsmen, KXIP’s Nicholas dived at the boundary to catch the ball and threw it inside before he landed on the ground. Pooran’s miraculous feat was lauded by man, and when the God of cricket says it is the best save he has ever seen, who are we to argue?