ANOTHER HERO IS BORN FOR RAJASTHAN
Heroes are forged every time the Rajasthan Royals play the Punjab Kings. Young Kartik Tyagi is the newest hero on the IPL block. His brave defence of four runs in the final over fetched Rajasthan an improbable win in Dubai on Tuesday.
Tyagi, 20, is the latest in the line cricketers who rose to fame under the spotlights of the Indian Premier League. Rahul Tewatia of Rajasthan and Arshdeep Singh of Punjab too found fame in the IPL cauldron with stirring exploits.
Unlike Tyagi and Arshdeep, Tewatia is not very young. The 28-yearold has been around for some time. After the 2014 IPL debut for Rajasthan, he plied his brand of leg-spin for Punjab and Delhi before returning to the Rajasthan fold last year. In Sharjah, when the Rajasthan chase was foundering, Tewatia produced a flurry of sixes in the 18th over to gain a place in IPL folklore. Five sixes in an over from Sheldon Cottrell of Punjab sealed the match for Rajasthan.
The tables were turned this year in India when skipper Sanju Samson steered Rajasthan to the doorstep of victory with a brilliant century. Arshdeep, 22, was given the onerous task of stopping Samson with 13 needed off the final over. The Punjab seamer conceded a six but kept the scoring down, and when five was needed off the last ball, Samson was caught at cover.
And on Tuesday, a win was forged from Rajasthan’s ruins on the field. It was a win that elevated Rajasthan to the fifth spot on the points table. Kartik Tyagi, take a bow.