Delhi Capitals leg-spinner Amit Mishra on Monday said Rahul Tewatia exceeded his expectations by conjuring up a magical knock, which etched his name in the IPL folklore.
Both Tewatia and Mishra hail from Haryana and played together for the Capitals in the 2018 season.
Playing for Rajasthan Royals, the 27-year-old Tewatia smashed five sixes, four on the trot, in the 18th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell to help his side record the highest run-chase in IPL history.
"He has been focussing on his batting. The way he played yesterday it is good for the future of Haryana. I want him to keep performing like this in future," Mishra said ahead of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"I had little bit of expectations that he can but I didn't expect that he will go on to play the innings he actually did. Sometimes your focus is so much, things start happening as you want. It was an innings which we don't see often. It is one of the best innings of his life so far."
Despite being one of the best leg-spinners in the country, Mishra has played just 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is for India.
Asked if he is under-rated, Mishra said: "I don't know if I am underrated. I used to think too much earlier, so mind used to get diverted, now I just focus on my job."
"To be honest, I didn't get what I should have but it's okay. People know who is Amit Mishra. That's is enough for me. I have to focus on my cricket and bowling so that is what I do."
Mishra said the Abu Dhabi wicket will favour the batsmen.
"We haven't practiced on this wicket. But I think it is supporting batting. It is a bit slow. Batsmen are getting the time to play shots. Batsmen have an advantage, bowlers also are planning accordingly. It will be a slow wicket," he said.
The 37-year-old said his team will have to plan more for the matches which will be held in Sharjah.
"For Sharjah, we have to plan better because it is a small ground. Compared to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the match in Sharjah will be more important match. If you win there, it will help the team."
On Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, Mishra said: "Shreyas has been good so far. He is always positive. He gives the freedom to the bowlers and according to his strategy, he sets the field. He will get better performance as a captain moving forward."
Asked about DC coach Ricky Ponting, Mishra said: "He has played the game for such a long time, so he knows the mentality of the players. If someone is low or overconfident, he knows what to say."
"He always talks positive. He is so jolly, I also learn a lot from him how he handles players depending on their individual nature."
Mishra is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL with 157 scalps in 148 matches.
Asked how did he manage to make leg-spin such a potent weapon in a format which is dominated by the batsmen, he said: "I was always told that it is not a game for leg-spinners but it only motivated me further."
"I thought when you take wickets, you put teams under pressure. So to take wickets, you need to plan. Leg-spinners have more variety than others, so they are wicket-taking option but you have to work hard for it."
