Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Tushar Deshpande put on a stellar show in his first appearance since the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 loss to Gujarat Titans (GT). After an economical spell, Deshpande scored contributed with a 14-ball 33 cameo and then scored 11 runs in the super over win for MSC Maratha Royals against Aakash Tigers MWS on June 2 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Sarfaraz’s Tigers post fighting total
Earlier, Maratha Royals skipper Siddhesh Lad won the toss and opted to field first. Deshpande conceded just six runs in his first two overs. Opener Varun Lavande was dismissed cheaply by Irfan Umair. Mumbai veteran Shams Mulani faced as many as 17 balls to score five runs. Mulani's troubled stay at the crease was ended by Maxwell Swaminathan. Then, opener Jay Gokul Bista departed for a 16-ball 25. Sarfaraz and Ajit Yadav accelerated in the middle overs, clearing the boundary with ease. Arjun Dani ended the partnership with Ajit's wicket. He hit five sixes in his 17-ball 37.
In the 13th over, Sarfaraz was dismissed for a 19-ball 28. Deshpande returned in the 15th over and got the wicket of Sourabh Singh. Tigers lost eight wickets for 126 as Shashank Attarde was run out. In the last three overs, Saksham Parashar and Prince Badiani's cameos took Tigers to 165/8.
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Royals slow down after powerplay overs
In the run chase, Sahil Jadhav was dismissed for a single-digit score by Parashar. Sachin Madhuker Yadav and Siddhesh Lad tried to use the fielder restrictions. In the fifth over, skipper Lad lost his wicket after hitting a four and a six off Badiani. Then, Attarde was introduced into the attack and he delivered with Chinmay Sutar's wicket. After powerplay overs, not a single boundary was scored in next five overs as Mulani and Attarde operated.
Sachin broke the shackles with a six each against Parashar and Mulani. In the 13th over, Sachin reached his half-century from 33 balls. In his last over, Attarde broke the partnership with Dani's wicket. Dani scored 20 runs from 23 balls.
Deshpande delivers with cameo but Tigers force super over
When Deshpande arrived at the crease, Royals needed 59 runs from six overs. He hit Naman Pushpak for a four and a six. Jamshed Alam came back into the attack and got wickets of Sachin and Rohan Raje off consecutive deliveries. Sachin scored 54 runs from 39 balls, including four fours and three sixes. In the same over, Deshpande hit him for a couple of sixes. In his last over, Alam dismissed Deshpande for a 14-ball 33. In the penultimate over, Pushpak conceded just two runs and got the wicket of Aditya Dhumal. In the final over, Maxwell hit a six. On the last two balls, there were two runs outs, forcing a super over.
What happened in super over?
Alam was handed the ball for super over. Deshpande and Raje walked out to bat. 16 runs came off the super over, including two fours off Deshpande's bat. For Tigers, skipper Sarfaraz and Ajit Walked out to bat. Umair conceded just five runs off the first five balls and Ajit was run out. Sourabh hit a six off the last ball but it wasn't enough to take Tigers over the line. Royals won the super over and Deshpande was named ‘Player of the match’.