Rajasthan Royals pacer Tushar Deshpande gave fans a fiery moment in the IPL 2025 clash against Punjab Kings as he dismissed young opener Priyansh Arya with a sharp delivery and followed it up with a cold-blooded salute send-off.
The match, played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on May 18, saw Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer winning the toss and choosing to bat first. While Fazalhaq Farooqi leaked 11 runs in the opening over, Tushar Deshpande struck early in the second.
On the fifth ball of his over, Deshpande bowled a good-length delivery which Arya tried to drive through the covers. However, the shot didn’t connect well, and Shimron Hetmyer completed a brilliant low catch with a dive to his right.
Priyansh Arya walked back after scoring just 9 runs off 7 balls. Deshpande then gave him a salute send-off, which drew loud cheers from the Jaipur crowd.
Watch the video here:
The celebration became an instant talking point as Rajasthan Royals looked to finish their season strong despite being knocked out of the playoffs race.
At the time of the writing, Punjab Kings is at 104 for the loss of four wickets. If Punjab wins this match, they will get a step closer to playoffs.