LSG: India and Lucknow Super Giants pacer Avesh Khan hilariously stated in the post-match press conference that he saw stars when he stopped the ball in the final over. Avesh was tasked with defending nine runs off the last over, which he did excellently to help LSG beat the Rajasthan Royals by two runs.
LSG: Before the last over, Avesh had dismissed RR skipper Riyan Parag (39 off 20) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (74 off 52), the opposition’s most threatening batters. Rishabh Pant turned to him to bowl the last over. The pacer dismissed Shimron Hetmyer (12 off 7) and stopped the ball with his hands off the last delivery as LSG won the game by two runs.
LSG: For his efforts with the ball, Avesh was named the Player of the Match. Speaking to Murali Karthik during the post-match presentation, he said (via IPLT20.com):
“The hand’s okay now. For a moment, I thought it was broken—I got hit right on my bone for a moment, ekdam se taare dikh gaye the [I saw stars at once]. Didn’t even get the time to celebrate properly! I don’t want to be the next Mitchell Starc—I want to be the best version of Avesh Khan. “
“My focus is on bowling with clarity and executing my plans with precision. I don’t pay too much attention to the scoreboard while bowling. My goal is to back my execution. The idea, especially in the final over, was to restrict boundaries in the first three balls to build pressure on the batters.”
“Tonight, I just wanted to win the game for us” – Avesh Khan on his thoughts during the match
“When the ball went up, I saw David Miller and thought, ‘He’s got it.’ Saving six runs is critical, especially on grounds like this, where even mistimed shots can fly to the boundary. We were mostly discussing field placements—especially who should go out to the deep.”
“I’m learning to understand my own bowling patterns, which helps in making those decisions. I always put the team first. Tonight, I just wanted to win the game for us. We’ve got six more matches to go, and I’ll give my all to help us win those too, with more performances like this one,” he added.
This was LSG’s fifth win of the season; they now have 10 points to their name and currently sit fourth in the points table.
