IPL 2020 Highlights, RR vs KXIP Match, Full Cricket Score: Rajasthan script amazing comeback to register highest-ever successful chase

Steve Smith, Rajasthan Royals skipper: 

That was some chase wasn’t it? We were lagging a bit there, but then Tewatia, wow, that was a great display. What an amazing game.

It generally gets a bit wetter and skids a bit more in the second innings. I thought we always had a chance, we just had to keep going and not let the required run rate climb too much. It’s a small ground and there have been a lot of sixes hit here in the last two times we played here. We always thought we had a chance and we gave ourselves the opportunity to come back.

Sanju Samson is striking the ball really cleanly, all around the ground. He’s powerful, he’s making the job easier for whoever he’s batting with. He’s hitting sixes at will right now. It’s just going to be about adapting a bit, when we play in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Those grounds will be a bit bigger, but most of the balls he’s hitting right now will go out of any ground.

What we’ve seen from Tewatia in the nets is what he came up with in that huge over, he’s been hitting the ball a long way. Obviously it was a bit of a scratchy start, but I actually said to Ronnie, once he gets one the floodgates will open, and that was the case. Sanju told him at one point, run down the wicket and just try to hit it as far as you can. Credit to him, he stuck to it. He did a pretty good job in the end.

You can look at Jofra as well, his first two balls were sixes. I think we’ve got a good balance of players at the moment, some strong boys who can hit some sixes. It’s on a smaller ground, but we’ll have to adapt on the other surfaces. I’m really proud of all the boys today, including the bowlers. I think they did a really good job today, it felt like we could be chasing something like 250 at one point. They gave us something to chase and we got over the line.

Highest targets successfully chased in IPL history:

224 – Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab , Sharjah, 2020
215 – Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad, 2008
209 – Delhi Daredevils vs Gujarat Lions, Delhi, 2017

Rahul Tewatia today:

First 23 balls – 17 runs (SR – 73.91)
Last 8 balls – 36 runs (SR – 450.0)

After 19.3 overs,Rajasthan Royals 222/5 ( Jofra Archer 13 , Tom Curran 4)

And it’s all over! What a match, and despite some huge, huge knocks, the unassuming Rahul Tewatia has won millions of hearts with his incredible performance in the eleventh hour. He left it late, but my god did he deliver. His heroics are enough for Tom Curran and Jofra Archer to see it through to the end, and Rajasthan Royals complete the highest run-chase in IPL history.

After 19 overs,Rajasthan Royals 222/5 ( Jofra Archer 13 , Riyan Parag 0)

What a start Mohammed Shami! He gets another wicket after Robin Uthappa hits a weak shot straight to Nicholas Pooran. Could this be the beginning of the end for the Royals, No, scratch that, Jofra Archer has belted a sixer on his very first ball. Make that two, it’s back to back sixes. Nine runs required from nine balls, how are we here right now? I’ll tell you how, it’s all thanks to the glorious Rahul Tewatia, with the finest cricketing turn around the IPL has ever seen. Our lord and saviour Tewatia whacks another six, and now it’s just 2 runs required off seven balls. He hits another huge shot, but this doesn’t have enough on it, it’s found a fielder. What an innings, take a bow young man, you’ve proved the world and their mothers wrong tonight.

Robin Uthappa in death overs in IPL:

SR : 174.3
Balls/Boundary : 4.38
Balls/Six : 9.77

After 18 overs,Rajasthan Royals 203/3 ( Rahul Tewatia 47 , Robin Uthappa 9)

I would like to formally submit an apology to Rahul Tewatia. I’ve doubted your credibility, slandered your capability and you’ve left me in the mud. You didn’t need to go so hard though, five sixes in an over is ridiculous. We are truly not worth.

After 17 overs,Rajasthan Royals 173/3 ( Rahul Tewatia 17 , Robin Uthappa 9)

Mohammed Shammi rejoins the bowling attack, and what an impact! He gets the big wicket in his very first ball, after Sanju Samson fluffs his lines and hits a bouncer straight into the safe, safe gloves of KL Rahul. This has really taken the wind out of Rajasthan Royals’ sails. Robin Uthappa comes out to bat, and he has a short but incredibly difficult journey ahead of him. He starts well, with a couple of boundaries in the last two balls of Shami’s over. It’s a positive sign, but it’s nowhere near what they need at the moment.

Sanju Samson’s gone!

It was one too many shots from the batsman, and he departs for 85 off of 42, after being caught by KL Rahul. Mohammed Shami gets the wicket.

After 16 overs,Rajasthan Royals 161/2 ( Sanju Samson 85 , Rahul Tewatia 14)

Six from Sanju Samson. And another. Back to back maximums for the Rajasthan Royals batsman, he’s trying to get this chase done all on his lonesome here. He runs a quick couple, and then hits another huge six! 20 runs off the over and Glenn Maxwell has been well and truly taken to the cleaners in this over. The run rate is still over 15 though, there’s a lot more hitting needed.

After 15 overs,Rajasthan Royals 140/2 ( Sanju Samson 64 , Rahul Tewatia 14)

Tewatia finds himself on strike, and it’s Ravi Bishnoi bowling. The batsman tries to make something happen with a reverse hit, but he’s messed that one up too. It’s just a single. He looks like he just wants to go home right now. Sanju Samson gets a single, and Tewatia is back on strike. This is like watching an episode of the British Office, just awkward and sad, but also a little funny. Wait wait wait, is that a six from Tewatia? I’m so happy I’m crying, he’s finally gone and done something. Aaaaand he misses the next ball after trying another reverse hit.

After 14 overs,Rajasthan Royals 132/2 ( Sanju Samson 63 , Rahul Tewatia 7)

Sanju Samson hits a six, and as well as he’s doing, this is just proving that Rajasthan Royals have got it really wrong here with there decision to send out Rahul Tewatia. Every time he’s on strike, he looks like a deer caught in flashlights. At this point, it’s in Kings XI Punjab’s best interests to keep him batting, he’s helping them more than he’s hurting them. 10 runs off the over and the RRR climbs to 15.33.

After 13 overs,Rajasthan Royals 122/2 ( Sanju Samson 55 , Rahul Tewatia 5)

Bishnoi’s drop in the last over notwithstanding, Kings XI Punjab are putting on a fielding masterclass tonight. After Pooran’s other-worldly effort, Mayank Agarwal manages to save another couple of runs after batting the ball away from its path to the boundary. These couple of runs here and there are worth are unbelievably important for KXIP, because they’re raising the required run rate bit by bit as every over goes by. Meanwhile, Tewaita has still not gotten over his nerves, he’s having a bit of stinker. Four dot balls in the over, and only four runs off it.

After 12 overs,Rajasthan Royals 118/2 ( Sanju Samson 52 , Rahul Tewatia 5)

Rahul Tewatia looks a bit out of his depth here. He’s trying really hard, but nothing is coming off for him at the moment. On the other end, Sanju Samson, who more and more is looking like Rajasthan Royals’ best hope of winning this, brings up his fifty. It’s been an incredibly mature performance from the 25-year-old, but he’s lucky to have gotten to fifty, he was almost caught. If it weren’t for the incompetence of Ravi Bishnoi, he’d have been walking. Glenn Maxwell is absolutely fuming here, he’s red as a tomato.

After 11 overs,Rajasthan Royals 112/2 ( Sanju Samson 49 , Rahul Tewatia 3)

Jimmy Neesham’s back for his third over, and he kicks off with an attempted yorker. Samson deals with it well and takes a single. A dot ball, and another single, a slower ball that’s hit to long-on. Sanju Samson gets the first boundary in a while after a piledriver of a shot races through a gap at extra cover. Samson tries to pummel another six, but he misjudges it and it falls a few feet short of a fielder.

After 10 overs,Rajasthan Royals 104/2 ( Sanju Samson 43 , Rahul Tewatia 1)

Rahul Tewatia surprises a fair few by coming out early at No 4. This is a huge vote of confidence for the 27-year-old, can he live up to it? On the basis of this first over he’s faced, maybe not? It’s Glenn Maxwell bowling, and the deft Australian manages to grind out a rare boundary-less over, just four runs off it.