‘Nobody gave Yash Dayal sympathy. This is the worst, can’t go lower’: Tewatia | Cricket

Rahul Tewatia knows a thing or two about handling pressure in the last over. In the last three years, nobody has had a better success rate than Tewatia when it comes to last over finishes. He was perhaps the best man to walk up to teammate Yash Dayal after he was hit for five sixes in a row in the last over of an IPL 2023 match by Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh. After all, Tewatia had meted the same treatment to Punjab Kings pacer Sheldon Cottrell in IPL 2020, albeit in the 18th over.

Dayal, who was a shining light in GT’s title-winning run last year, was crestfallen after being taken to the cleaners by Rinku Singh that saw KKR chase down 29 runs off the last over. He was replaced by Mohit Sharma in GT’s next match against the Punjab Kings. The veteran India pacer returned as the Player of the Match with figures of 2 for 18 on his return to IPL. Tewatia, however, said Dayal would come back strong.

“He was one of our main bowlers. We became champion last season and he played a massive role in it. He bowled well with the new ball as well in the death last year,” Tewatia, who played a lap shot over fine-leg when 4 runs were needed off 2 balls, told reporters after GT won by 6 wickets.

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“One match cannot change the fact of what he has done for us. I don’t think anyone in the team has given him any sympathy,” he added.

The left-hander, who has made a habit of coming on top of last-over finishes, revealed what he had told Dayal after the KKR defeat.

“I told him, ‘One match has gone bad. If you want to go down then only you can hit the rock bottom otherwise at GT no one will ever make you feel bad about it. Keep practising and execute what didn’t happen that day and wait for your chance. This is the worst, you can’t go any lower than this,” he said.

When asked about the secrets behind his success ratio in crunch moments, the 29-year-old all-rounder from Haryana said he practices by giving himself different targets.

“In the 14 league games, you tend to bat in such situations eight or nine times. Most of the time batting comes in 13-14 overs. For the last 3-4 years, I have been practising this. I set targets for myself through match situations. Match stimulations in open nets also gives me a better idea on how to take chances in a particular situation and how I should finish the match,” he said.