The Rajasthan Royals pacer Tushar Deshpande opened up on his iconic last over in the game against the Gujarat Titans early in the season. It was a game mixed with so many emotions for both of the franchises and its fans as the match went down to the wire. Sai Sudharshan led the charge for the titans with the bat but the wickets were falling at the other end. In fact by the end of the 15th over, the Titans lost 6 of their wickets and there was no hope left. After Tushar Deshpande defended 11 runs of the last over, there was a celebration which the fans assumed was against Rashid Khan for his celebration in the previous season but that was not the case.
"That celebration was kind of an aggression [in me] which started one over ago. I came on to bowl the 19th over. Riyan [Parag, Royals captain] told me, 'Tu daal' [You bowl], but when I went to my run-up, he said, 'Ruk, Jofra ko daalne de.' [Wait, let Jofra bowl it.] That kind of hurt me. I got a little dejected as to why not me, because I was confident of bowling the 19th over,” said Tushar Deshpande. It is a well known fact that the confidence of the bowlers depends on the faith that the skipper has in the bowler and in this case, Deshpande was upset.
Jofra Archer’s crucial 19th over gave Deshpande the cushion to defend 11 runs in the final over against the Gujarat Titans
"This is my chance. Mujhe kar ke dikhana hai. [I have to show what I can do.] I had no other thought in my mind, [like] what if I fail, what if I don't defend?; The red-soil pitch was very placid; He was expecting another yorker but I had told Riyan that I will bowl a bit wider. Rashid went for a big hit and the leading edge went to Jofra," said Tushar Deshpande on bowling the 20th over. It was down to him to prove his skipper wrong and he bowled brilliantly to execute his plan to perfection. The kind of clarity in thought he had to stick with his plan despite failing to land the first two yorkers, is a commendable skill for a bowler.
Jofra Archer bowled the penultimate over and he bowled exceptionally well to contain the flow of runs and that gave Deshpande the cushion to defend 11 runs off the last over. Riyan Parag did trust him over Nandre Burger, which is also a big moment for Deshpande as the latter is more experienced at the international stage. The Indian pacer’s main strength has been his yorkers and he was confident in executing it. He bowled brilliantly to defend a low score in the last over and that would have surely regained the trust of his skipper.
The Rajasthan Royals have lost the game against the Gujarat Titans by 77 runs and that would take a huge toll on the Net Run Rate with the playoff race intensifying with every game. They will have must-win matches from here on in and they will need every player in their side to step up their game and finish in the top 4 of the table.
