He may not have had much to do in the last couple of matches, but Rahul Tewatia is an ace in the pack for Gujarat Titans, especially in crunch situations. When a game reaches an almost improbable stage for the chasing team, the left-hander is summoned to bring the side back into the contest.
With honours like the Purple Cap and Orange Cap talked about so much, a player who has scored a total of 63 runs in 11 games so far this season is likely to be an afterthought. But talk to his team and they are likely to say that a strike rate of 203 at the end is worth its weight in gold. Tewatia has been dismissed just once in the 2023 campaign in his six visits to the crease, signifying that he – more often than not – finishes the job he is entrusted with.
The job of scoring 20 in five balls, or 30 in seven, is the very definition of a cameo, and is not possible to pull off every time. But Tewatia is blessed with cricketing smarts, and knows the requirements of a situation and when to shift gears. “Whether one gets to face one ball or 25-30, one needs to understand the demands of the situation and do one’s best,” Tewatia tells The Indian Express in a video interview.
“One needs to adapt to the requirements of the team. It’s a team game and not about individual achievements. I don’t think about getting the Orange or Purple Cap, but winning games for my team.”
These skills have been refined by plying his trade for almost a decade on the domestic circuit for Haryana. “I generally bat at No. 5 or 6 for my state. It helps to plan my innings according to the situation,” the left-hander says.
Cricket intelligence
During the ongoing season, apart from the one occasion when the Titans ended on the wrong end of a small chase against Delhi Capitals, despite Tewatia contributing a 7-ball 20 towards the end, his team has come up trumps on every occasion. Tewatia has shown various facets of his batting in the handful of deliveries he has faced.
In the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings, as the asking rate approached two runs per ball in the last couple of overs, Tewatia seemed subdued batting on 5 after facing 12 balls, only to finish the game in two deliveries by hitting Tushar Deshpande for a six and a four.
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“I get into the zone in those situations. I have practised for them and don’t let any negative thoughts come into my mind. The team also gives me all the confidence I need. Even after that DC game, all the talk in the dressing room was like ‘Rahul had brought the match so close (GT lost by five runs), otherwise we would have lost by a much bigger margin’. All the talk is very positive.”
Against Punjab Kings in Mohali, he faced just two balls but with the team needing four off two balls, he nonchalantly lapped Sam Curran over short fine-leg for a boundary before pounding his chest with his fist. Against Mumbai Indians, his five-ball unbeaten 20 featured two sixes off Jason Behrendorff and another off Riley Meredith, all after shuffling around the crease.
As far as team chemistry is concerned, the bond with South African Miller is especially strong, given they have shared some splendid partnerships in tall chases. “The relationship is based on tuning off the field, the timing, trust and understanding developed over many games.”
However, the role he is usually seen in is so fleeting that he will not lead any run-scoring charts. Tewatia was once named in the squad for a series against England, but didn’t get a game. It would be quite brave for the Team India set-up to include someone in the XI for a specialist role of maximising the five or seven balls he faces, and may hamper his India prospects, even though he has been one of the standout players in the IPL over the last few years. Such is his effectiveness in his designated role that his leg-spin has been hardly used this season.
How he does it
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One look at Tewatia’s stature dispels the doubt that one needs to be tall with bulging biceps to hit big. Though he is not slim by any definition and has worked in the gym to aid his game, the USP of his batting is his ticking brain, alongside the hours he spends at the nets simulating match conditions.
“It’s about jigar (heart) and not muscles. I can do what I want with a normal body shape. I follow all the instructions of our trainers and do the exercises they recommend. I also often bat for more than two hours at the nets, making up for the small number of balls I get to face in the matches (smiles). The sessions are always situation-specific, where I rehearse the roles I will play in the game,” he says.
Being the designated finisher in the team means Tewatia, who will turn 30 next week, often has to confront the opposition’s best bowlers and take them down. In the DC game, he hit South African speedster Anrich Nortje for three consecutive sixes. Tewatia is not fazed by big names.
“IPL is the biggest league in the world, and all the best players come here. So, I can’t afford to be affected by a bowler’s reputation. It’s all about watching the ball and hitting the ball. Don’t watch the bowler,” the self-described Yuvraj Singh fan explains.
He believes in staying one step ahead of the bowler when there are just a few balls to face. “One has to predict and pre-meditate in those situations, try to second-guess what the bowler is trying to do, based on the field placement, dimensions of the field and the nature of the pitch.”
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The defending champions look the team to beat this year as well, and as the tournament enters its business end, Tewatia will be needed to put the finishing touches to a team effort. And his contribution is likely to be short, but incisive.
Gujarat Titans’ Rahul Tewatia plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
