Shamik Chakrabarty in Chennai
Yashasvi Jaiswal would like to forget this. The shot was atrocious and not expected from a player of his talent. Rajasthan Royals were going steady until their opener tried one big shot too many and brought Sunrisers Hyderabad back into the game in Qualifier 2. For Royals, it was the beginning of the end.
Chasing 176 for victory, Royals were 56/1 after seven overs. The required run rate was a very manageable 9.23 and they didn’t need to do anything spectacular. Jaiswal started off the eighth over against Shahbaz Ahmed with a six, and after four balls, nine runs were collected in that over. The southpaw suffered a cramp in between and yet, he blindly came down the track to hit another maximum. Shahbaz had pulled his length back and Jaiswal was never reaching it. He ended up slicing it to Abdul Samad at long-off.
Pitch No. 7 was used for this game. It was a fresh strip, which slowed down as the match progressed. In the second half, it started to turn as well. Jaiswal was batting well and it was important for him to carry on, for it was never easy for a new batter on that surface. Jaiswal is 22 years old, but by now he has played enough cricket at the top level to show better game awareness. His shot triggered a collapse and Royals never recovered.
By his standards, Jaiswal didn’t have a successful IPL this term. A tally of 435 runs in 16 games was a tad below par. He was expected to raise his game in the knockouts, especially in Jos Buttler’s absence. Jaiswal would be disappointed with his performance.
His dismissal made Royals’ score 65/2 in the eighth over. Soon they were 92/6 in the 14th over. The game was done and dusted. Skipper Sanju Samson, too, didn’t cover himself with glory, departing on the heels of Jaiswal’s dismissal. Also, Royals’ think-tank missed a trick by not sending Shimron Hetmyer, a left-hander, early with two left-arm spinners – Abhishek Sharma and Shahbaz – operating in tandem.
Sunrisers’ captain Pat Cummins, on the other hand, was superb with the way he used his bowlers and set the field. Jaiswal’s hara-kiri had given him an inch. He took a mile.