Yash Dayal produced a brilliant final over against CSK on Saturday night to steer the RCB to Playoff qualification.
A year ago, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Yash Dayal faced one of the biggest setbacks in his short career after Rinku Singh hit him for five consecutive sixes in the final over, stealing a sensational win for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Dayal’s mother, Radha, fell ill from the distress of seeing her son’s struggle. However, Royal Challengers Bengaluru placed their faith in Dayal in the 2024 auction, beating the Titans for his bidding at INR 5 crore.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Yash Dayal celebrates during IPL 2024(AFP)
With a renewed focus, Dayal showcased much-improved performances in the 2024 season. His night to shine came on Saturday, when he defended 17 runs against star finishers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, thus closing a painful chapter in his cricketing career with a remarkable victory.
Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!
Also read MS Dhoni’s future in IPL ‘up to BCCI’ as Rayudu defies Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to make unusual demand for MSD
After securing the win in the final over, Dayal immediately checked on his mother. A report from PTI stated that Dayal video-called his home following the match and asked his mother first-up, “Kaisa feel kar rahi ho (how are you feeling mom?).”
Since RCB’s 27-run win, the phones haven’t stopped ringing at the Dayal household. Chandrapal, Dayal’s father, himself played a lot of club cricket and was a former medium pacer who retired from the Accountant General’s office in Allahabad in 2019. He stated that at first, he feared Dayal might face a similar fate as the player did during the match against KKR last year.
“Woh darawana sapna firse aa raha tha jab Dhoni ne pehli ball pe sixer mara (That terrifying dream of last season started to haunt me when Dhoni hit that 110-m six off the first ball),” he recollected the dramatic final over.
“But deep inside, I knew something good will happen this time. It’s all the result of his hardwork, full credit to him. The God has been kind.”
Rinku reacted to Dayal’s brilliant final over
Rinku Singh, who smashed the five sixes against Dayal to seal an incredible win over KKR last season, was among the first to laud the left-arm pacer after RCB’s win. “God’s plan baby,” Rinku wrote on his official Instagram profile.
RCB will now await the winners of the matches on Sunday to ascertain their opponents in the Eliminator; they confirmed the fourth spot in the table with the win against CSK.
