The past few days of the IPL 2023 have been nerve-boggling with some intense close finishes. From five sixes hit in the last over to victories by the barest of margins, we have seen it all so far. In the same vein, today’s match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals turned out to be a humdinger.
The Royals’ skipper won the toss and opted to field first against the hosts in Ahmedabad. Though the hosts lost two wickets early in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, the middle-order batters took charge into their hands. Firstly, Devdutt Padikkal displayed some brilliant hitting and then it was the Sanju Samson show until the 15th over of the run chase. Samson’s blitzkrieg (60 off 32 balls) meant that the visitors remained in the hunt.
But the star of the match turned out to be none other than the big-hitter, Shimron Hetmyer. At one stage, Rajasthan Royals were reeling at 56/4, when Hetmyer arrived to support his skipper, Sanju Samson. But post the departure of the skipper it was the night of the talented West Indies. He kept the scoreboard ticking with big hits in between.
Eventually, the equation came down to needing seven runs off the last over. In a gamble move, skipper Hardik Pandya asked Noor Ahmed to ball the last over ahead of the veteran Indian bowler, Mohit Sharma. But Hetmyer took no time as he took a double run on the first ball and then whacked a six to seal the match for Rajasthan Royals for a thrilling finish. During his stay at the crease, Hetmyer smashed (56* off 26 balls) five sixes and two boundaries, respectively.
They beat us three times last year so it was a bit of revenge really: Hetmyer
During the post-match presentation, star batter Shimron Hetmyer reflected on his stunning innings. He emphasized the fact that practising with a visualisation of tough match situations really helps a player mentally. Furthermore, he added that it was sort of revenge for him and his side as they were beaten by Gujarat Titans thrice so far.
“I just really wanted to win against these guys because they beat us three times last year so it was a bit of revenge really. I just practice it really. It helps to practice with that mindset that you’re a couple of wicket down and you need 100 runs with eight overs left. You just try to program your mind that way and so far it’s working. I was pretty happy to be honest to be facing [a spinner for the final over]. I was just focused on getting a double off the first ball and then see what happens after that,” Hetmyer stated.
Commendably enough, Shimron Hetmyer was adjudged as the Player of the Match for taking his team home with an almost impossible finish one will ever witness.