Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Avesh Khan's celebration after dismissing Kolkata Knight Riders opener Phil Salt during their IPL 2024 match at Eden Gardens on Tuesday was a playful jab aimed at his captain, Sanju Samson.
Khan took a stunning catch off his own bowling, diving low to his left and securing the dismissal with a one-handed grab. Following the catch, Khan had a brief exchange with Samson, then grabbed the wicketkeeper's glove and displayed it towards the dugout in a celebratory gesture.
The celebration could be a response to Samson's remarks following the match against Punjab Kings last week, where there were issues with communication among RR fielders during catching attempts. Samson and Avesh Khan collided during one such instance, resulting in a dropped catch.
After the game, Samson said, "We had few funny instances from last year and this year. But I am really happy that everyone is eager to go and catch. I would be very sad if people are just staying away and not catching it.
"It gets a bit tough actually - the stadium is full of noise and when people call, we are looking at the ball, we can't look who is coming. I need to tell my fast bowlers that it's a bit easier to catch with the gloves instead of hands."
Earlier, RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to field first. The Royals are currently atop the IPL standings with 10 points and a net run rate of plus-0.767. They have won five matches and lost one. Meanwhile, the Knight Riders have played five games this season, winning four and losing one. KKR are second in the standings with eight points and a net run rate of plus-1.688.
"We would like to bowl first," Samson said after winning the toss. "Might be better to chase on this. Very much excited to be back in Eden Gardens, there's a great vibe in the stadium. Jos (Buttler) and Ashwin (Ravichandran) are available for this game, so they are coming back."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said his team would also have bowled first if they had won the toss.
"Would have loved to bowl as well based on the last game, on how the ball moved around," Iyer said. "Whenever he (Sunil Narine) comes in, he is hard to read and he's got that poker face all throughout. We want him to perform the way he has. We are playing the same team."
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Sanju Samson (w/c)
- Riyan Parag
- Dhruv Jurel
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Rovman Powell
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Trent Boult
- Avesh Khan
- Kuldeep Sen
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):
- Philip Salt (w)
- Sunil Narine
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Shreyas Iyer (c)
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Ramandeep Singh
- Mitchell Starc
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Harshit Rana
