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Following his side's four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs on Thursday, Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowler Avesh Khan said that he always gives his 100 per cent during a match.
Avesh Khan picked up three wickets and gave 44 runs in his four-over spell. He dismissed Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror and Dinesh Karthik in the first inning of the match. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Avesh revealed in the death overs he tried to bowl wide yorker/yorker or a slow bouncer. "I always give my 100 per cent, stay relaxed and bowl the delivery that I would have thought about at the top of my mark. In the death overs, I always try to bowl a wide yorker/yorker or a slow bouncer. I have got good results from these deliveries and I don't change much," Avesh said. He added that last year he came to take part in the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after playing 10 Ranji Trophy games for which his body was not responding in the T20 tournament. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old pacer did not take part in the Ranji Trophy games this season. "Last year when I played for LSG, I had come into the IPL from playing 10 Ranji Trophy games in which I bowled about 320 overs. The body was not responding properly. I was putting in effort but it was not working. As a bowler, you realise this. The IPL demands a lot of effort even though it is a four-over or a 20-over contest. Mental and physical fatigue will be strikingly visible," he added. Coming to the match, RR won the toss and elected to bowl first. Almost every RCB batter got a start, but they could not convert them into a big knock. Rajat Patidar (34 in 22 balls, with two fours and two sixes), Virat Kohli (33 in 24 balls, with three fours and a six) and Mahipal Lomror (32 in 17 balls, with two fours and two sixes) emerged as top-scorers, restricting RCB to 172/8 in their 20 overs. Avesh Khan (3/44) was the top bowler for RR. Ravichandran Ashwin (2/19) and Trent Boult (1/16) also did a fine job of putting brakes on RCB run-rate. In the run-chase, the Royals' got off to a fine start, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (45 in 30 balls, with eight fours) and Tom Kohler Cadmore (20 in 15 balls, with four boundaries) putting on a 46-run stand. From then on, RCB bowlers applied some pressure on Rajasthan, restricting the run-flow and getting some wickets. RR was restricted to 112/4 in 13.1 overs. However, Riyan Parag (36 in 26 balls, with two fours and two sixes) held one end before he was dismissed while Shimron Hetmyer (26 in 14 balls, with three fours and a six) and Rovman Powell (16* in eight balls, with two fours and a six) attacked RCB in the last few overs to get a four-wicket win with an over left. Mohammed Siraj (2/33) was the top bowler for RCB. Ashwin took home the 'Player of the Match' award. Now, RR will meet Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in qualifier two on May 24 in Chennai to decide who plays Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final on May 26. (ANI)
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