New Delhi, April 20 Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Avesh Khan’s relentless execution of yorkers in the death overs, saying that it single-handedly propelled Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) to secure a narrow two-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR).
At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, RR were perfectly poised to win as they needed 25 runs off 18 balls. But Avesh Khan delivered one pin-point yorker after the other to pick three wickets - of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer - in his last two overs.
He also defended nine runs off the final over to give his team a memorable win, with his figures reading as 3-37, as RR fell to a second straight close defeat.
"Avesh Khan single-handedly won them the game. He bowled the 18th over for just five runs and then nailed the final over.
“It was smart captaincy too—Pant trusted current form over reputation. Avesh backed the yorker, the one delivery we old-timers always talk about. No fancy variations—just relentless yorkers. That’s what brought them back into a game they had almost lost," said Manjrekar on JioHotsar.
Ex-India batter Ajay Jadeja analysed how RR found their way from going towards a straightforward defeat to suffering their fourth consecutive defeat in the competition.
“Things have just slipped away for Rajasthan Royals. It's not that they’ve played badly—they’ve been in the game. They needed just 9 runs in the final over.
“In the IPL, you expect teams to finish from there, regardless of conditions or who's bowling. They need to believe in themselves a bit more and look to close games earlier. Even here, they started well—picked up big wickets like Pooran, Marsh, and Pant.
“But they haven’t finished well with the bat or ball. Those four sixes off Sandeep Sharma in the first innings made a big difference. They had the game in the bag but let it slip,” he concluded.
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