Team Lucknow Super Giants in action© BCCI
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamer Avesh Khan’s pinpoint yorkers in the death overs against Rajasthan Royals (RR), crediting him for LSG’s comeback. “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,” JioStar expert Sanjay Manjrekar said while speaking exclusively on Match Centre Live on JioHotstar.
Manjrekar also lauded Rajasthan Royals for backing 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi and hailed the youngster’s composed debut knock.
“Just imagine–parents in their late 30s or early 40s watching this. It was unbelievable. His first two sixes came off good deliveries, and then he showed great maturity against the spinners. He impressed everyone. When he got out, it looked like he might cry–and at his age, that would’ve been completely natural. Full credit to Rajasthan Royals for trusting him, giving him the best possible platform at the top of the order, even with another left-hander alongside. They’ve truly unveiled a new wonder boy,” he added.
A fantastic last over by Avesh Khan helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) defy some serious hitting by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and stand-in skipper Riyan Parag as Rajasthan Royals (RR) fell short by two runs at their home venue of Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
On his IPL debut, Suryavanshi scored 34 in 20 balls, with two fours and three sixes, which gave RR a flying start in the power-play.
Avesh took a three-wicket haul while defending nine runs in the final over. LSG won the match by 2 runs as it had posted 181 runs. Rajasthan were restricted to 178. Avesh took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his outstanding display of bowling.
In the current standings, RR is in eighth spot with two wins and six losses, whereas LSG is in fourth spot with five wins and three losses.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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