Yash Dayal’s redemption story is what dreams are made of

Yash Dayal's redemption story at RCB showcases resilience and support leading to success in the IPL.

Everybody loves a redemption story. There are, of course, a few who deny it, pointing instead to the law of averages to explain any success that follows failure.

But can one see Goran Ivanisevic winning Wimbledon after losing thrice in the final in any other light? David Beckham slotting home a spot-kick winner against Argentina at the 2002 World Cup after being sent off against the same opponent four years earlier?

On Saturday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Yash Dayal experienced something similar against Chennai Super Kings on a frenzied night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Playing for Gujarat Titans in 2023, Dayal had failed to defend 28 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders, getting clubbed for five sixes by Rinku Singh in an over.

Against CSK, tasked with defending 16 to deny his opponent a playoffs slot — and 34 to win the match — Dayal conceded just seven to take RCB through.

When M.S. Dhoni hit the first ball of the last over for a massive 110m six, it seemed like Dayal would re-experience last edition’s trauma. But he dismissed Dhoni the very next ball and bowled two dots to Ravindra Jadeja with 10 needed for qualification.

Jadeja had, in fact, hit Mohit Sharma for ten runs off the last two balls in previous year’s final to win the title, making Dayal’s effort all the more creditable. So much so that skipper Faf du Plessis even dedicated his player-of-the-match award to the left-arm pacer.