Rajasthan Royals young speedster Chetan Sakariya impressed one and all with his calm head against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter on Monday and even former India batsman Virender Sehwag took notice of the performance. In a high-scoring affair, Sakariya managed to leave a lasting impression as he returned figures of 3-31 even as Punjab Kings posted 221. The youngster managed to take the wickets of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Jhye Richardson.
“Chetan Sakariya’s brother died of suicide a few months ago, his parents didn’t tell him for 10 days as he was playing the SMA trophy. What cricket means to these young men, their families. IPL is a true measure of the Indian dream & some stories of extraordinary grit. Great prospect,” tweeted Sehwag. Last month, Sakariya had lost his younger brother while he was playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Saurashtra.
Sakariya was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.2 crore in the players’ auction held in February this year. In fact, Sakariya was a net bowler with the Virat Kohli-led franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year. After the match against Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals’ Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara also praised Sakariya for the composure exhibited by him.
“I think Chetan was just brilliant, his skill was on his display. It was so wonderful to watch a bowler always smiling and always in the game in a high-scoring game. He bowled with the new ball and he bowled at the death. Speaks a lot about his skill and attitude, it is great to have him in the side, he is a simple guy, he has had ups and downs in life. He is here to enjoy his cricket, our job is to support him. It is really good to see the control he had, the changeups. Chetan is a young man who I think will have a very good future,” said Sangakkara while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
Sanju Samson’s fighting hundred went in vain as Arshdeep Singh held his nerves in the final over to help Punjab Kings register a thrilling win over Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. KL Rahul’s calm and composed knock, aided by Deepak Hooda’s belligerent hitting, helped Punjab Kings post 221 in the allotted 20 overs. In response, Rajasthan Royals fell just four runs short of the target. Rajasthan needed 5 runs off the final two balls, on the penultimate ball, Samson declined to take a single and on the final ball, he was dismissed by Arshdeep, giving Punjab Kings a win by four runs.
