South Africa’s legendary pacer Dale Steyn has lavished praise on Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) pacer Tushar Deshpande for his last over heroics against Gujarat Titans (GT), conceding just four runs to help his side win. Steyn is in awe of Deshpande’s execution of yorkers with pinpoint accuracy. He pointed out that it is difficult to stay calm in such tense situations as the mind wanders. Steyn went on to say that Deshpande’s display in the last over has ensured that he stays on Indian selectors’ radar throughout the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
"The final over bowled by Tushar Deshpande was exceptional. He executed his yorkers perfectly under pressure, did not give any chances to a player like Rashid Khan to find the boundary and he ensured his team did not suffer any hiccups in the final over of a 200-plus run chase,” Steyn said on Star Sports.
“It is very difficult for a bowler to stay calm in such a high-pressure situation because a lot of things go through your mind. But, to ensure your plans are executed perfectly without feeling the pressure is a rare skill. Tushar bowled four inch-perfect Yorkers, then he changed his line and delivered the length ball and by doing that, he baited Rashid Khan into hitting a big shot on that delivery and he ended up getting caught on the boundary line. Wonderful display of game sense. Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner and this bowling performance will ensure that the Indian selectors don't take their eyes off him this IPL season."
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The 30-year-old made his T20I debut in 2024 against Zimbabwe. He claimed two wickets from as many games at an average of 27.50. Injuries have proved to be setback for the RR pacer who wants to make a comeback to the Indian side.
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Deshpande bowled three overs, conceded 24 runs and claimed the wicket of Rashid in the final over of the innings. Before the final over, he had conceded 20 runs. When GT needed 15 runs to win from last two overs, Deshpande was set to bowl the penultimate over but wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel suggested that he should bowl the 20th over instead. Skipper Riyan Parag obliged and gave the penultimate over to Jofra Archer who conceded four runs to leave 11 runs for the final over.