IPL 2023: Anuj Rawat rises to the occasion at crucial stage, RCB's belief in young talent pays off

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Bengaluru, May 15: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) registered one of their most dominating wins in the IPL 2023 as they bundled out their opponents Rajasthan Royals for a paltry 59 to win the game by 112 runs.

The team's faith and investment in young talent in Anuj Rawat paid off as the young cricketer reposed the faith by delivering in what a crucial game. RCB's patience and confidence during his rocky start to this edition.

Rawat's performance with the bat and glove summarised how standing behind a player eventually pays off. His blistering knock of 29 off 11 was capped with a tremendous catch and run out that stood out in the match. His daring shots helped RCB reach a massive total of 171, raising the morale of the RCB dugout.

Having joined the RCB last season, the 23-year-old'keeper-batter endured a rocky start to the ongoing edition. However, RCB maintained their belief in his talent and finally, it paid off with the batter scoring runs at a rapid pace in one of the most crucial stages of the tournament.

For Rawat, the innings did not come as a surprise, he had been anticipating it for a long time. Speaking on the latest episode of the RCB GameDay, Rawat commented, "This is what I practised for before the season and I was very confident that I will do well if I played till the end.

"Definitely, there was pressure to go out and perform and so I am a little relieved now. We have two more games and are hoping that we will give our best." After his stupendous performance with the bat, Rawat added feathers to his performance with a brilliant catch and a runout.

Describing the catch, he added, "Three of us called for it. Parney (Wayne Parnell) was claiming the catch, and I saw Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) also running in, but eventually, I went for it. As for the runout, it was my day and it went really well."

Senior all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who played a crucial role in the RCB's victory by scoring a quick-fire 50 and bagged Player of the Match award, was all praise for the youngster.

"I had a really nice partnership in the beginning with Faf which gave just enough platform for Anuj and Bracewell to finish off from there. This is exactly what we had been looking for, some sort of finishing touch. Anuj was fantastic today," commented Maxwell on GameDay.

RCB's Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson, also praised Rawat's performance and revealed that he always believed in his talent. He commented, "Anuj Rawat's performance will certainly lift the morale of the team."

Hesson further added, "His sublime hitting is always nice for the team. Anuj shuffled around a bit in the team, but we always knew he had the power, it's great that he has been able to get the job done."

Meanwhile, RCB captain Faf Du Plessis felt the team didn't have this sort of an innings in this IPL season. "It's really important to play such innings for the team," he concluded.