Rinku Singh salutes Yash Dayal's final over heroics: 'God's plan baby'

MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja’s quickfire partnership threatened to deny Royal Challengers Bengaluru a place in the IPL playoffs on Saturday night. With 17 runs to chase in the final over, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis had options at his disposal. There were also questions as to why spinner Swapnil Singh or leggie Karn Sharma were not brought into the attack. Many expected Cameron Green would come on to bowl. However, Faf trusted Yash Dayal with the responsibility and the youngster delivered under pressure, helping RCB win by 27 runs and secure a playoff spot.

A year ago, Dayal had the complete opposite feelings after bowling the final over. Then playing for Gujarat Titans, he was smashed for five consecutive sixes by Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh, leaving him devastated. Dayal fell ill after the match and was dropped from the team for almost a month. The Titans eventually released him, but RCB showed faith in the left-armer and acquired him in the auction.

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On Saturday, Dayal nearly saw history repeat itself when MS Dhoni hit him for a 110-meter six on the first ball of the final over. However, he trusted his strength in bowling off-pace deliveries, and it paid off. He dismissed Dhoni on the next ball and left Jadeja struggling, securing a 27-run victory for RCB and continuing their fairytale run to the playoffs.

Following the match, Rinku shared a heartfelt post for Dayal on Instagram, reading: “God’s plan, baby.”

Instagram story by Rinku Singh for YASH DHAYAL. 👏 pic.twitter.com/tUFBlJvr0n

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 18, 2024

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An impressed Du Plessis later dedicated his Player of the Match award to Dayal for his “unbelievable” performance.

“We were defending 175, it got a bit close. At one stage, with MS there, I thought, oh dear, he has done it so many times. The way we bowled with the wet ball was unbelievable; we tried to change it. I dedicate this Man of the Match to Yash Dayal. The way he bowled was unbelievable. For a man who’s fairly new, he deserves it,” said the South African.