Rahul Tewatia played one of the most extraordinary innings in the history of the IPL to take Rajasthan Royals to a scarcely believable win over Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.
Chasing a mammoth 224 to win, Rajasthan opted to send the little-heralded 27-year old up the order after a fast start by Steve Smith and Sanju Samson.
The first two-thirds of his innings were cringeworthy. He could barely connect with the ball at all. When he did, his shots barely made it to the edge of the 30-yard circle.
It left Rajasthan needing 84 from the last 30 balls, with Tewatia on strike against Sheldon Cottrell, one of the costliest bowlers in the competition.
All seemed lost. And then Tewatia took the Jamaican left-arm quick for five sixes in one over, and the Royals ended up reaching their target with three balls spare.
It was the record for the highest run chase in the history of the IPL, sealed when Tom Curran clipped Murugan Ashwin over extra cover for four.
“Those were the worst 20 balls I have ever played,” Tewatia said.
He had made eight off his first 19 deliveries, yet ended with 53 from 31 balls.
“I was not hitting the ball well initially, but I had to believe in myself,” he said.
“It was just a matter of one six. After that, I thought it was now the time to go, and I got five in the over.”
The chase was set up by Samson’s 85 from 42 balls, and Smith’s 50 from 27 balls.
It had seemed far-fetched at halfway when Punjab finished on 223 for two from their 20 overs.
Mayank Agarwal continued his stunning form as he made his maiden IPL hundred, with KL Rahul hitting 69 as they shared in a stand worth 183 for the first wicket.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
