South Africa fast-bowling great Dale Steyn is impressed by Tushar Deshpande’s performance this IPL season, saying the Rajasthan Royals seamer’s composure and execution in the final over against Gujarat Titans must attract the national selectors’ attention. Deshpande has started the 2026 IPL season strongly for the Rajasthan Royals, delivering a match-winning performance against the Gujarat Titans by defending 10 runs in the final over in Ahmedabad on Saturday. On how Deshpande outsmarted Rashid Khan in the last over, Steyn told broadcaster Star Sports, “The final over bowled by Tushar Deshpande was exceptional. He executed his yorkers perfectly under pressure, did not give any chances to a player like Rashid Khan to find the boundary and he ensured his team did not suffer any hiccups in the final over of a 200-plus run chase.
“It is very difficult for a bowler to stay calm in such a high-pressure situation because a lot of things go through your mind. But, to ensure your plans are executed perfectly without feeling the pressure is a rare skill.” Steyn added, “Tushar bowled four inch-perfect yorkers, then he changed his line and delivered the length ball and by doing that, he baited Rashid Khan into hitting a big shot on that delivery and he ended up getting caught on the boundary line. Wonderful display of game sense.”
“Tushar Deshpande bowled in a fearless manner and this bowling performance will ensure that the Indian selectors don’t take their eyes off him this IPL season.” Bought for Rs 6.50 crore, he has established himself as a key bowler for RR, building on his previous success as a leading wicket-taker that held him get into the Indian team in 2024 for a T20I series against Zimbabwe.
RR won the thrilling match by six runs and Steyn termed it the game of the season so far.
“This match between GT and RR is easily the best game of IPL 2026. In the latter half of the season, when the playoff spots will be decided, GT will look at this match and wonder how many opportunities they had to win it. But they did not capitalize and let the match slip away.
“RR are going to be really happy with this win. Their last victory against CSK, they did not have to work hard to secure it. But here against GT, the match went down to the final over and RR were forced to do everything they could to seal the win.
“Last season, Rajasthan had a heartbreaker of an IPL season. They lost matches by small margins. They missed out on golden opportunities to seal the win. They could not convert the chances into victories. But this season, RR is looking like a different team.” Meanwhile, former India batter Sanjay Bangar praised the way RR skipper Riyan Parag handled the pressure to lead his side to its second successive win.
“Riyan Parag deserves the credit for his amazing captaincy in this match against GT. It is not an easy job being a skipper, especially when you have tons of bowling options to choose from and you find yourself in a high-pressure situation.
“Riyan clearly trusted Tushar Deshpande to bowl the final over and when a captain chooses you to bowl an over that’s a do or die one, then you have to do well. If you don’t, your team will lose. It is important for the skipper to motivate the bowler when asking him to do such a tough job.
“You have to constantly tell them that you can do it and Tushar Deshpande lived up to the expectations by soaking in all the pressure and bowled the best over of his cricket career. Once you get that kind of trust and faith from your skipper, it is a wonderful feeling.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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