Star finisher Rinku Singh hailed Yash Dayal who emerged as the hero for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final over against Chennai Super Kings which sealed a playoff spot for the Faf du Plessis-led side.
In one year, Dayal has turned his fortune around. Last year, while playing for Gujarat Titans Dayal was at the receiving end of criticism after Rinku smashed five sixes in the final over of the game to seal a win for Kolkata Knight Riders.
A year later, RCB on Saturday stood on the brink of qualifying for the playoffs of the IPL season. On a rain-interrupted day, RCB batters opened their arms to put 218/5 on the board.
CSK needed 201 to qualify for the playoffs and it all came down to Dayal needing to defend 17 runs in the final over.
A towering six from MS Dhoni set the tone for CSK to put 201 on the board. Dayal bounced back on the next five deliveries to get RCB across the finish line.
Rinku took to Instagram, to congratulate Dayal for his standout performance and wrote, “God’s plan baby”.
After Rinku smashed him all around the park, Dayal received a lot of criticism from some sections of fans. But RCB showed faith in the left-arm quick and he proves his class on Sunday night.
Picking up Dhoni’s wicket in the final over served as the redemption for the 26-year-old speedster. After conceding a six on the first ball, Dayal removed Dhoni on the next delivery.
He heavily relied on his slower deliveries to see off the game and conceded just one run in the final four balls.
Along with Dayal even RCB redeemed themselves after struggling for the majority of the season. They suffered six successive defeats and barely stayed in the race for the playoffs.
But they went on to win their next six games on the trot to give themselves a chance to turn the season around.
The popular team are now two games away from lifting their maiden IPL title.