"This song fits perfectly with innings I played": Gujarat Titan's Tewatia recalls his memorable knock against Rajasthan Royals

Gujarat Titans will lock horns with five-time champions Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

The particular knock was played against Punjab Kings on September 27, 2020 Set a target of 224 runs, RR were in need of some serious power-hitting as they were at 173/3 in 17 overs, still needing 51 runs in the final three overs.

At that point, Tewatia was also struggling at 17* in 23 balls. But what followed next not only changed the match, but perhaps the trajectory of Tewatia's career. In the 18th over, Tewatia smacked pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes, bringing down the equation to 21 runs in the final two overs.

RR won the match by four wickets and pulled off the highest successful run-chase in IPL history. Tewatia ended with an unbeaten 53 in 31 balls, consisting of seven sixes. This raised Tewatia's stock in franchise cricket, as Gujarat Titans splurged Rs 9 crore to get him in the team during IPL 2022 mega auction last year.

He represented RR in 32 matches and scored 426 runs in 23 innings at an average of 25.06 and a strike rate of 124.20. Before that, he had unsuccessful stints with Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals.

Since then, he has aced several run chases for GT, often hitting some useful, game-changing sixes down the order. In 27 matches for GT, he has made 280 runs at an average of 35.00 and a strike rate of 157.30. His best score with GT is 43*.

He has scored 801 runs in 75 IPL matches and 52 innings at an average of 26.70 and a strike rate of 134.17.

He has one half-century in his IPL career. His exploits as a lower-order finisher capable of performing in tense situations has earned him the nickname of the 'Ice Man' which was given by legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar.

"Yes, just three days ago, on the flight from Lucknow (on whether he still watches that innings). I started watching it because someone had sent me an edited clip of the images from the innings that had been stitched together with the soundtrack of the song by Divine, 'Edit karke Image tune mera Meme bana Diya.' It also had the first 17-18 deliveries where I got four to five runs. I was like this song fits perfectly with the innings I played," Tewatia was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The song in question is '3:59' by Indian rapper Divine, released as a part of the album 'Punya Paap' back in 2020. The song features lyrics, "Edit Karke Tune Image, Mera Meme Bana Diya, Mehnat Karke Tere Bhai Ne, Poora Dream Bana Diya (you edited my image and made memes, I worked hard and created a dream)."

Indeed, the lyric fits Tewatia's innings from that day. Had he lost his wicket and not finished the run-chase, he easily could have been a victim of online trolling and memes from cricket fans. But he ended up playing an absolutely clutch inning that changed his career for better and even earned him an Indian call-up back in February 2021 for the T20I series against England. He is yet to represent the Indian team but is strengthening his case for a national cap.

Gujarat Titans are at the top of the points table with eight wins and three losses in 11 matches.

This translates to a total of 16 points. This season, Tewatia has scored 63 valuable runs down the order at an average of 63.00 in six innings, staying unbeaten five times. His best score this year is 20. (ANI)