Rovman Powell fits the bill of a modern-day West Indies player perfectly. A free-spirited and cheerful cricketer, Powell can whack the ball out of the ground with his brute power and unbelievable shot-making.
Powell, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, is explosive with the bat and a gun on the field too, taking catches and saving runs effortlessly for his side.
Powell was born in Jamaica on July 23, 1993, and has played a total of 129 matches, both One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals, for the West Indies. He has aggregated 979 runs in ODIs and 1414 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 144.72.
The Jamaican is also a part-time medium pacer and has eight wickets in international white-ball cricket to his name.
Powell usually bats in the middle-order for his national side and is a great finisher given his power-hitting abilities and a calm temperament. He is also the captain of the West Indies side in T20s.
The Royals acquired the services of the West Indian in the player auction before the IPL 2024. Powell has played some game-changing cameos for the Royals in the IPL aggregating 103 runs at an excellent strike rate of 151.47. He has also been excellent on the field with seven catches from nine innings.
On his 31st birthday, here is a look at some of Powell’s brilliant batting and fielding displays.
Powell and Hetmyer to the rescue
Powell played a crucial part in his first appearance for the Royals in IPL 2024 against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur. In what looked like a straightforward run-chase, the Royals lost the plot initially to find themselves needing 20 off 12 balls with only five wickets remaining.
Powell joined his West Indies teammate Shimron Hetmyer to bring the Royals back into the match. He smashed two fours off the first two balls of the penultimate over by Sam Curran.
Though he was dismissed in the next ball, Powell had turned the match in the Royals’ favour with his 5-ball 11. Hetmyer got the required 10 runs from the last over as the Royals won a thriller by three wickets.
Silencing the Eden Gardens crowd
Powell played a match-winning cameo for the Royals in IPL 2024 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. Though Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten century to guide the Royals to a two-wicket win, their joint-highest successful run-chase, it was Powell who held his own and brought the Royals back at a crucial juncture in the match.
Powell came to the middle in the 13th over after the fall of wickets in consecutive balls, as the Royals were dangerously placed at 121/6 chasing 224. With 79 needed off the last five overs, Powell warmed up with a six off Andre Russell before going berserk against mystery spinner Sunil Narine.
For a bowler who had not conceded a boundary at Eden Gardens till then in IPL 2024, Powell treated Narine with disdain smashing two sixes and a four off the spinner to win a psychological battle. He was dismissed in the same over after making 26 off just 13 balls.
So near yet so far
Powell made his highest score for the Royals in their IPL 2024 away game at Sunrisers Hyderabad. His 15-ball 27 nearly took the Royals home before the team fell agonisingly short by a solitary run.
Chasing 202, Powell walked in at six as the Royals required 42 in the last four overs. He scored two boundaries in the 17th over and also added 22 runs with Hetmyer in quick time.
Powell hit a six off SRH skipper Pat Cummins in the penultimate over and a four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the final over as the equation boiled down to two runs from the last ball. But unfortunately, he got out as the Royals finished second-best in a close contest.
The Flying Jamaican
Rovman Powell was omnipresent on the field in the Royals’ Eliminator contest of IPL 2024 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Ahmedabad. He took four catches in the match, a record for most catches by any player in a playoff match in the IPL.
Just as the RCB openers were looking to run away with the match, Powell took a blinder to dismiss skipper Faf du Plessis and brought the Royals back into the contest. He ran in from deep mid-wicket and dived forward to hold on to a full-blooded heave from du Plessis.
Powell then picked up a skier from Cameron Green at cover off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin. Green was looking good on 27 but Powell judged his mishit to perfection to see his back. The Jamaican took two more catches in the match to complete a field day on the ground.
Later in the game, Powell played yet another entertaining cameo of 16 off eight balls during the chase. He hit two fours and a six off pacer Lockie Ferguson to close out the match with an over to spare as the Royals advanced to the second qualifier of IPL 2024.
