Former Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh has lauded West Indies batter–Shimron Hetmyer for playing a match-winning knock for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) against Gujarat Titans.
The promising batter Hetmyer helped the Royals to chase down the target of 178 runs and hit the six to finish the game in style. He remained not out on 56* (26).
Harbhajan Singh thinks Shimron Hetmyer is batting sensibly at lower down the order-
“This player is unbelievable. Hetymer is batting at a different level. Whenever the ball is in his zone, he hits a six, and when it is not in his zone, he takes singles and doubles,” said the former Indian spinner.
Hetmyer’s brilliant innings included five sixes and two fours. He was awarded Player of the Match for his 56-run knock. With the Royals reeling at 55/4, Hetmyer stood till the end to chase down the target.
“Buttler is doing the job at the top of the order and Hetymer is batting sensibly down the order. It is not that he is only hitting, he is batting properly and when you bat properly, these are the results you get,” he further added.
While in the last edition of the IPL, Sanju Samson-led Royals reached the finals, and in that season, English limited-overs skipper Jos Buttler was awarded ‘Orange Cap’. In five games Buttler played in IPL 2023, he scored over 200+ runs, while the Carribiean top order batter has scored 183 runs in five innings for the former champions.
WHAT. A. GAME! ? ?
A thrilling final-over finish and it's the @rajasthanroyals who edge out the spirited @gujarat_titans! ? ?
Scorecard ?https://t.co/nvoo5Sl96y#TATAIPL | #GTvRR pic.twitter.com/z5kN0g409n
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2023
“He hit Rashid Khan straight down the ground and then, in the end, stayed back and hit. The ball was not that short, that is the West Indian power. No one else could have hit that. Credit to the entire Rajasthan team. They played fantastic cricket. Buttler didn’t fire but don’t forget that there is another guy down the order – Hetmyer,” concluded the veteran Indian spinner on WI batter.
Hetmyer smashed 13 runs in Rashid Khan‘s last and 18th over of the game, and later he finished the innings by hitting a six on the last ball when 7 runs were needed in the last over for Sanju Samson-led side.
So far, RR has won four games in five matches it played this season, with the last match victory against GT by three wickets with four balls to spare.
For the sixth game of the season, the Sanju Samson-led side will take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 19.