IPL Throwback KXIP vs RR 2020: When Rahul Tewatia's 'unbelievable' innings stunned Punjab

Rahul Tewatia was an unknown name till then. Till this 9th Match of IPL 2020. And after this game, Tewatia became a household name, an IPL hero and cult and so many other things. 

But what was so special about this 54-run knock off 31 balls. 

It is special because Tewatia's innings can be broken into two halves. 

His first 23 balls fetched him just 17 runs and with the required rate increasing with every ball, it appeared as if his failure to score runs quickly will lead to RR losing. 

Is there a twist in the tale?

Tewatia on __#Dream11IPL #RRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/yoFLzxp9IB

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 27, 2020

As Tewatia struggled from one ball to the other, Sanju Samson at the other end fumed. He was playing a good strike rate and thanks to his special show that RR were still in lookout for the massive target of 224 runs. Soon, Samson would get frustrated, play a fault shot and depart. 

On Twitter, Tewatia was already the reason for this dismissal. He had become a villian for many. But in the next over, with RR needing 52 off last 18 balls, everything changed. 

Despite struggling to connect the ball, he did not lose heart and kept on trying and as a result, when pacer Sheldon Cottrell came into the attack, he got more pace on the ball and soon the confidence and shots came back together. 

His name was enough..!!!
______ __________ __________.. ___ _________ _____________ ______ ____ _____ _______________..@rahultewatia02 #IPL2020 #RajasthanRoyals #RahulTewatia #KXIPvsRR #ViratKohli @sachin_rt @IPL @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/q0MI1vMzHk

— SreeJith_Jayasankar (@sreejith6211) September 27, 2020

Tewatia hit 5 sixes in this over, taking RR over 200 mark and also near to the target. Not many could believe what was happening in front of their eyes. A batter who was short-on-confidence a minute ago, was now a hero. He completed his fifty in the next over and departed too but that innings took Rajasthan over the line, making it one of the most memorable moments of the tournament. 

He did not just win that game for RR but also helped coin a new cricketing term called 'Tewatia', which meant playing a completely different cricket in second phase of the innings, which could be a match-changing innings as well.