'Bowlers started planning that against me. So, I worked on it': Tewatia spills secret behind match-winning knocks for GT

IPL 2022: Rahul Tewatia spoke in detail about his consistent match-winning finishes for the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing edition of the league.

The Gujarat Titans continued on their splendid run in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League, as they defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to register their eighth win of the season on Saturday. RCB, after opting to bat in the afternoon game at the Brabourne Stadium, put 170/6 in 20 overs; however, the star GT duo of Rahul Tewatia (43* off 25 balls) and David Miller (39* off 24 balls) shined again as they led the side to victory with three balls remaining in the innings. Follow IPL 2022 Coverage

Rahul Tewatia (IPL)

Tewatia has been in incredible form with the bat in the ongoing edition of the tournament. The left-handed batter has played a series of match-winning knocks for the side, he has scored at a strike rate of 161.26, and has remained unbeaten in four of his eight innings for the Titans so far, scoring 179 runs at 44.75.

In the game against RCB, Tewatia came to the strike at a time when the Titans had lost the wicket of Sai Sudharsan in the 13th over of the game. The side required another 76 runs from 43 deliveries to win the game. The batter, then, forged an unbeaten stand with Miller to steer the side to win.

Throughout the innings, Tewatia displayed an array of shots through on and off-side, and opened up on his versatile range of hitting in the post-match presentation.

“I had come into the IPL after working on my game through the off-stump. I practiced hitting shots through the off-side, because bowlers had started planning that against me by setting the field outside the off-stump. I realised that I can get my boundaries if I find gaps (on the off-side). So, I opened my game on both sides of the field,” Tewatia revealed, as he was awarded the player of the match.

When asked about his ability to remain cool during the final overs of the run-chase, Tewatia funnily said that he does “try to look cool.”

“I can't say I remain cool, but I do try to look cool! Inside the mind, there are a lot of things going on. I keep thinking about how to execute my plans, which bowler to target.. so there's a lot of stuff going on,” said Tewatia.

“In the death overs, you have to play pre-planned shots. I look at the field but yes, during the final overs, you have to adopt a 'see ball, hit ball' approach. I try to hit the ball through the off-side if it is outside the off-stump, and likewise on the leg-side.”