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Indian Premier League 2020

Tewatia berates senior RR teammate Uthappa for fielding lapse

Uthappa, Tewatia
by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

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.

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.

Others saw it as simply one player asking for more from a teammate.

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.

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.

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