'I tried to hit the leg-spinner, but, unfortunately, I couldn't. So I had to hit other bowlers.'
Rahul Tewatia, who smashed five sixes in an over to help Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab in an incredible IPL match in Sharjah on Sunday, revealed that he always kept believing that he could achieve the feat despite struggling initially during his innings.
Tewatia struck five sixes in the 18th over off Sheldon Cottrell, four of them on the trot, to turn the match on its head after the Royals needed 51 runs from the last three overs.
Tewatia (53 of 31 balls and 7 sixes), who earlier struggled to connect the ball after being pushed up the order, hoisted Cottrell for a series of sixes much to the amazement of his team-mates and opposition players.
Jofra Archer (13 not out) and Tom Curran (4 not out) later took the Royals past the target of 224.
"The dugout knows I can hit the ball long. I knew I had to believe in myself. It was a matter of one six," the 27-year-old Tewatia said, after the Royals's four-wicket win.
"Five (sixes) in the over, that is amazing. I tried to hit the leg-spinner, but, unfortunately, I couldn't. So I had to hit other bowlers."
Tewatia struggled to connect with the ball early in his innings after he was sent at Steve Smith's fall, ahead of the likes of Robin Uthappa. However, with him wasting deliveries at a crucial juncture, pressure was building on Sanju Samson.
Asked about it, the player from Haryana said, "Now I am better. The worst 20 balls I have ever played. After then I began to hit, so I kept going."
