Rahul Tewatia has been one of the finds of IPL 2020, but fans found out another side to him during Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), when he berated senior teammate Robin Uthappa for what he felt was a lapse in the field.
The incident occurred in the ninth over of RCB’s chase of 178 when Devdutt Padikkal, the young opener, attempted a sweep off Tewatia and only managed a top-edge. Uthappa, stationed at deep square, ran in and failed to get there, the ball dropping just short of him. It seemed a routine enough moment, but the cameras panned to Tewatia, who was seething.
Presumbaly, Tewatia believed Uthappa should have been quicker off the blocks – RCB were 63-1 at the time, with Padikkal and captain Virat Kohli putting on a steadying partnership after the relatively early loss of Aaron Finch. Perhaps Tewatia had carefully set up that plan for just that moment, and was merely disappointed at it not going how he’d imagined. Or maybe, he’s just extremely expressive.
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The fact that captain Steve Smith also spread his arms out after Uthappa’s drop only added to suggestions the veteran could have done better.
Whatever it may be, Tewatia’s reaction wasn’t an ordinary one, and it caught the eye of social media. Some considered it disrespectful to a player who turns 35 next month, has represented India in 59 internationals, and is among the highest scorers in IPL history.
It was not a very good image, to see Tewatia, mouthing what seemed like obscenities at Robin Uthappa, who is not only at least 10 years his senior but also an ex-India cricketer. To me it looked like RU did a good job of saving a boundary on a difficult chance. @rajasthanroyals
— Complexum Precarium (@kv0784) October 17, 2020
Tewatia shouted so badly at Uthappa coz he didn't attempt for a catch but that was really tough I feel.
Was very poor from tewatia that— Sabarish Ds (@SabarishDs) October 17, 2020
Others saw it as simply one player asking for more from a teammate.
Robin Uthappa's contributions are negative this season for RR. Tewatia is literally yelling t his teammates to pick up their game. Bad luck for him after virtually single-handedly winning games for his team doing everything right.
— Durgesh Kinnerkar (@ninjapunk360) October 17, 2020
But one thing is certain with Tewatia. This is his IPL, and he, seemingly, can do no wrong. After lambasting a teammate for not taking a difficult chance, Tewatia set the standard when he pulled off a blinder at the boundary to dismiss captain Virat Kohli. He caught it on the run just within the boundary, threw the ball in the air before the momentum took him over, before leaping back in to complete a remarkable catch.
https://twitter.com/jeetesh27799/status/1317451586889748481
Ultimately, it was all to no avail. AB de Villiers scored a scarcely-believable 22-ball 55* to help RCB pull off a seven-wicket victory that had, only a couple of overs earlier, looked improbable.
