Following his stellar performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Marco Jansen was given the responsibility of bowling in the death against the likes of Gujarat Titans (GT) pinch hitters Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan. But on Wednesday night, the South African understood the difference between bowling at the death and the powerplay after he became the bowler to have conceded the most runs in a run-chase (63 runs) in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Less than a week ago, Jansen dismissed RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli in the first over to establish himself as a talent in the IPL. "This is the best spell I have bowled with the white ball so far," the South African said after SRH defeated RCB by nine wickets after chasing down 69 runs in eight overs at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Having gained the faith of his skipper Kane Williamson, the southpaw was given the responsibility to bowl the final over. Facing him was Tewatia and Rashid, and chasing 22 runs off six balls was a tall order for the two GT batters. Hence, Jansen would have fancied his chances of seeing the Sunrisers through to their sixth win on the trot. But the batters in the middle had other ideas.
Tewatia cleared his front leg and clobbered Jansen for a six on the first ball itself. The next ball saw Jansen change his length to short and it paid dividends as Tewatia only fetched a single. With 15 runs to defend off four balls, the left-arm bowled one in the slot and Rashid muscled the ball down the ground for a maximum. It was evident that fuller-length balls weren't working for Jansen.
The bowler changed his length again and reaped the rewards. Rashid conceded a crucial dot ball and with only two balls left, the Titans needed at least one six to secure victory in the thrilling encounter.
Surprisingly, Jansen again opted for a full delivery and paid the price for it. Rashid sliced the low and wide full toss over the covers for a maximum. With three runs needed off the final ball, Jansen returned to bowling short, but Rashid was equal to the task as he pulled one over the fine leg fielder's head for a six.
This final over pushed Jansen to the top of an unwanted list after the left-arm pacer finished with figures of 63/0. He surpassed countryman Lungi Ngidi, who had leaked 62 runs against the Mumbai Indians (MI) back in 2019.
