Day after earning maiden India call-up, Rahul Tewatia wreaks havoc in Vijay Hazare game

Celebrating his maiden India call-up, Rahul Tewatia wreaked havoc in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday as he played a blistering knock. The Haryana lad, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, smashed 73 off just 39 balls against Chandigarh. Coming in at number 7 after Haryana's top-order collapse following Himanshu Rana's gritty century, Tewatia wasted no time as he went bonkers right after taking the crease. 

The batting all-rounder hit six sixes and 4 fours at a strike rate of 187.18 as he turned back the clock to IPL 2020 when he shot to fame with his powerful knocks. After getting to his fifty off 32 balls, Tewatia scored his next 22 runs off just six balls before getting dismissed by Jagjit Singh Sidhu. Tewatia also returned to pick 2 wickets in the second innings of the game. Despite his heroics, Haryana lost Chandigarh by 3 wickets on Sunday as skipper Manan Vohra-led from the front by scoring a century. 

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Tewatia, Ishan Kishan get maiden call-up 

Ahead of the 5-match T20 series against England, the BCCI on Saturday announced a power-packed 19-men squad led by skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma. After being ruled out of the Australia tour due to injury, IPL 2020 star Varun Chakravarthy earned his maiden call-up for the national team. The BCCI also called up Rahul Tewatia, who left his mark on IPL 2020, with some stellar show of power-hitting as he represented the Rajasthan Royals. 

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Veteran speedster Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has also been included in the T20 squad after being sidelined for months due to injury. The pacer had sustained an injury during the IPL 2020 in UAE and had to pull out of the cash-rich tournament mid-way. The squad includes several players who had a brilliant IPL 2020 as Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav has also received his maiden India call up. Ishan Kishan, who gave a blistering audition on Saturday morning itself as he led Jharkhand to a massive victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, has also been included. 

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Right after being announced in the squad for the T20 series, Tewatia remarked that he is really excited about sharing the dressing room with Indian skipper Virat Kohli. "So far, I played against Virat Kohli in the IPL. Now I will play with him and share the dressing room with him. Cannot wait to share the dressing room with him and some of the best cricketers in world cricket. It will be all about learning from them and understanding how they compete against the best in the business and succeed," said Tewatia while speaking to ANI after being named in the Indian team.

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