Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Kartik Tyagi bowled the over of his life as he defended four runs in the final over to take his team to an emphatic win at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday against Punjab Kings.
It looked like that it would be a stroll in the park for Punjab Kings when they needed 10 runs off the last 15 balls.
However, Mustafizur Rahman and Kartik Tyagi had other plans as they bowled in the right areas. Tyagi bowled five dot balls including two wickets in the final over as Rajasthan Royals snatched a win from the jaws of defeat to win by two runs. The right-arm fast bowler from Hapur bowled a couple of balls away from the batsman, flirting with the wide line and was also able to nail the yorkers.
The last over must have added a shot in the arm for Kartik Tyagi, who had missed the first leg of the IPL due to an injury. The youngster was delighted to play a major role in the team’s win when the match looked out of Rajasthan Royals’ grasp.
Tyagi said in the post-match presentation, “I was injured during the India leg of the IPL and by the time I got fit, the tournament was suspended. Felt sad. So this feels really good. I have been talking to people over the years and they keep telling me that things keep changing in this format, so I need to keep believing. I’ve always heard from everyone and also watched games in this format where strange things have happened. Today, I was fortunate to play a big role in something special. I was bowling a bit too short earlier, later worked on it consciously after getting a lot of feedback”.
Furthermore, credit should also go to Mustaifzur Rahman who also conceded only four runs in the penultimate over. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings had a settled pair of Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram at the crease but they went on to mess the run-chase as they left it to the last couple of balls.
Punjab Kings were in a shoo-in position and they should have finished the match earlier but the RR fast bowlers were able to keep their team in the match.
Rajasthan Royals will next face Delhi Capitals at Abu Dhabi on 25th September.
