Avesh Khan starred with the ball in India’s series-levelling 82-run victory over South Africa in the fourth T20I at Rajkot on Friday (June 17).
Chasing 170 to win, the visitors’ innings folded for a paltry 87 in 16.5 overs with Avesh doing the bulk of the damage with the ball. The right-arm pacer returned with the figures of 4 for 18 in his four overs, which included the prized scalps of Dwaine Pretorius and Rassie van der Dussen.
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Speaking after the game, Avesh credited head coach Rahul Dravid for giving the players a longer rope to prove their mettle.
Notably, the Indian team management persisted with Avesh even though he went wicket-less in the first three games.
“The team hasn’t changed over four games, so credit to Rahul (Dravid) sir. He gives chances to everybody and intends to give them a long enough run,” Avesh said at the post-match press conference.
“He doesn’t drop a player after one or two bad performances because you cannot judge a player on the basis of one or two games. Everyone is getting enough matches to prove themselves.
“Yes, there was pressure on me. I had zero wickets in three games but Rahul sir and the team management gave me another opportunity today and I ended up picking four wickets. It’s also my papa’s birthday, so it’s a gift for him too,” he added.
The 25-year-old relied on hard lengths to trouble the Proteas batters after having a discussion with opener Ishan Kishan.
“Whenever we are batting first, I always end up asking the batters how the wicket played, whether it was two-paced or not.
“I spoke to Ishan (Kishan) today and he said that hard length balls aren’t easy to play; some are bouncing, some are stopping and the others are keeping low. Then I planned to attack the stumps and bowl the hard lengths consistently. It’s in my hands to bowl well, not pick wickets.
“The slower ball wasn’t very effective on today’s wicket, so I tried to bowl hard lengths with the occasional bouncer to change things up.”
Asked about his chances to make the T20 World Cup squad, Avesh said: “Selection is not in my control. I just want to give my 100 percent every game I get to play for India. I don’t want to have any regrets over the effort I put in my performances.”
Thanks to Dinesh Karthik’s 27-ball 55 and Hardik Pandya’s 31-ball 46, the hosts posted 169/6 on the board after a poor start.
“Today’s wicket wasn’t easy for batters, it was two-paced although DK bhai, Hardik and Rishabh all played well. 170 was a very good total on this wicket and all we wanted to ensure was pick a couple of wickets in the powerplay,” Avesh Khan said.
(With PTI inputs)
