IPL 13: First reverse-sweep off Rashid wasn't pre-planned, says Tewatia

Rajasthan Royals chased down the target of 159 with five wickets in hand and one ball to spare against SRH on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium. Rahul Tewatia and Riyan Parag remained unbeaten on 45 and 42 respectively.

Both these batsmen got together at the crease with Rajasthan at 78/5 in the 12th over and the duo went on to form an unbeaten stand of 85 runs to take the Royals over the line. In the 18th over, Tewatia smashed Rashid for three consecutive boundaries, and the first two came as a result of reverse-sweeps. "The partnership was really great, as soon as I came to the middle, I thought of taking it deep. You also had a similar plan and we talked about it. We thought that if are required to score 40 odd runs from the final four overs, then we will have a chance. We were just clear that we will go after the ball which is there in our area," Tewatia told Riyan Parag in a video posted on iplt20.com.

"I thought about playing reverse sweep of the bowling of Rashid at the last time, it was not a pre-planned move. The second ball I played the same shot as I thought Rashid would not be expecting me to play the reverse sweep so that was pre-planned. The third boundary came as the ball was in my area," he added. Riyan Parag also gave an insight as to how he looked to get settled at the crease when he was batting with Sanju Samson.

"Before I went out to bat, we had a chat in the dressing room that if you and I are in the middle, then we will win the match for our side. I was looking to get settled initially when I was batting with Sanju Samson. When we won the match, I celebrated by doing Bihu dance," Parag told Tewatia. While batting first, SunRisers Hyderabad had posted a total of 158/4 in the allotted twenty overs. Rahul Tewatia had finished his four overs with the figures of 0-35.

With this win, Rajasthan has now moved to the sixth position in the IPL 2020 standings with six points from seven matches. The side will next lock horns with Delhi Capitals on October 14 at the Dubai International Stadium.