Xtra Time Web Desk: Rajasthan Royals’ teen fast bowler Kartik Tyagi bowled a sensational final over to hand his team a thrilling two runs win over Punjab Kings in the IPL 2021 match on Tuesday. Tyagi defended the four runs required by PBKS in the final over as he gave away just two runs and picked two wickets to snatch an incredible win for his franchise. He dismissed Nicholas Pooran (32) and Deepak Hooda (0).
The teenage fast bowler who hails from Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh has come a long way. Hailing from a poor middle class family, young Kartik had his shares of early struggles. His father did not have the finances for cricket training. In order to develop more strength on his bowling, Kartik carried sacks of produce from his father’s farm. He overcame all the obstacles to make it into the Uttar Pradesh side for the Vijay Hazare Trophy at only 17 years age.
An impressive show in domestic cricket saw him picked for the India U19 World Cup squad which was held in South Africa at the beginning of the year. The 19-year-old returned with 11 wickets including a game-changing 4/24 against Australia in the quarterfinal. The life changed for the youngster when he was picked for a whopping 1.30 crore by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction held in Kolkata. Tyagi’s biggest strength is he regularly clocks 140 kmph and loves to swing the ball both ways.
The big moment arrived for Kartik Tyagi during IPL 2020 when he was handed the cap by Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith. The talented pacer replaced an experienced Jaydev Unadkat. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he got rid of Mumbai Indian’s opening batsman Quinton de Kock. Kartik’s spell did not go unnoticed as he got a compliment from his RR teammate Ben Stokes who felt he was a mix of Australian speedster Brett Lee and Ishant Sharma.
Riding on his impressive show Tyagi was picked as net bowler for India’s tour to Australia along with Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Ishan Porel. He impressed bowling at the Indian nets and even received valuable tips from Team India’s ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah during one of the net session in Sydney.
A string of impressive performances in the IPL 2021 can lead Tyagi to take the next big step in his career and open the doors for the senior Indian team.