Kartik Tyagi
Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday defeated Punjab Kings by two runs in their opening IPL 2021 UAE leg match in Dubai.
Youngster Kartik Tyagi held his nerves to pull off a sensational last-over win for his side when Rajasthan needed four off the last six deliveries. Opener Yashaswi Jaiswal (49) was the top scorer for the Royals while Mahipal Lomror contributed 43.
Punjab, who looked confident at one point with skipper KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the middle, floundered in the run-chase, losing both the openers in quick succession.
With four runs to win off the final over and Aiden Markram-Nicholas Pooran duo at the crease, most fans would've thought that the contest won't go to the final delivery. But Tyagi plucked two wickets and gave away just two runs to dish out his career-best IPL performance.
Known for his ability to clock significant pace, Tyagi was a part of India's U19 World Cup 2020. He was also a part of the Indian camp to tour Australia in the four-match Test series earlier this year. The youngster, however, didn't make an appearance in any of the Tests and bowled in the nets throughout the entire tour.
Here's how Tyagi dished out his last six deliveries:
Ball 1: A dot ball to Markram, getting the yorker right and putting the pressure on the opposition.
Ball 2: A full-length delivery to Markram to give away just one run, bringing the equation to 3 off four deliveries.
Ball 3: Dismissing Nicholas Pooran with a near-yorker. The West Indies dasher nicked the delivery to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to assure fans of a thrilling win.
Ball 4: Another dot ball from Tyagi against Deepak Hooda to mount the pressure even further.
Ball 5: Hooda goes for a cover drive against a delivery bowled outside off but ends up giving a catch to Samson.
Ball 6: Kartik bowls an inch-perfect yorker to pull off a sensational win for Rajasthan Royals!
