Changing the playing XI after back-to-back defeats was maybe the best option in front of team India while they stuck to their guns and played an unchanged eleven over four games but the faith has paid rich reward with the series now level 2-2.
Changing the team after back-to-back losses was maybe the best option in front of team India while they stuck to their guns and played an unchanged eleven over four games.
The faith has paid rich reward with the series now level 2-2 and no one sums it up better than Avesh Khan.
In the first three games, Avesh Khan couldn’t get a single wicket but India went in with a settled team, only for the right-arm pacer to take 4 wickets for 18 in a massive 82-run win for India.
After the victory, Dinesh Karthik called the dressing room a “calm, secure, and fuzzy place” and went on to credit head coach Rahul Dravid for that. Avesh, too, struck, similar tones in his post-match press conference.
“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. He doesn’t drop a player after one or two bad performances because you cannot judge a player based on one or two games. Everyone is getting enough matches to prove themselves,”
Avesh said.
“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 further added that he wasn’t looking to bowl off-pace on a track that “wasn’t easy” for the batters. Instead, he looked to hit the hard length, a decision he arrived at after a mid-match discussion with 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,”
Avesh said.
“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,”
he added.
“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.”