Royal Challengers Bengaluru: In the IPL 2024 Eliminator clash, Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Avesh Khan was hit for 30 runs in his first two overs. But when it mattered the most, Avesh stepped up by conceding only 14 runs in his last two overs and taking three wickets to keep the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to 172/8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Avesh’s spell in the death overs, an area where he’s excelled for RR in this season, proved to be the difference yet again in the side’s march to Qualifier 2. Sticking to the deliveries which have worked well for him in the last five overs has been the key in Avesh’s success.
“I try to 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,” he said in the post-match press conference.
This time, last year, Avesh was out of sorts, picking just eight wickets in nine games for Lucknow Super Giants, before being traded to RR ahead of the ongoing season. By his own admission, Avesh realised he couldn’t get the desired performances in IPL 2023 due to fatigue.
“When I played for LSG last year, I played 10 Ranji Trophy matches before that, where I bowled something like 320 overs. So, the body was not able to respond so well. I was putting in a lot of effort, but it wasn’t happening. One could say that there are four overs to be bowled in IPL and it’s just a 20-over game, but it takes a lot of effort. The body doesn’t respond when you are mentally and physically fatigued,”
“The trade was not in my control but I have benefited from it. Since last year, there have been a few technical changes to my action. I have worked with my coaches and then played the Deodhar and Duleep Trophy. I could even make a comeback into the Indian team. I then realised how to keep the body fresh, when to put in effort and how much effort can be put in,” he added.
Keeping things simple has also propelled Avesh to be at his best. “I have simplified my cricket — I have to sleep (well), I have to eat (well) and I have to bowl (well) and there is nothing else to it.”
“The more you would think, cricket is like a circle, the smaller you keep it, the better it will be. You expand this circle more and you will find (more and more) gaps. This has changed my life too and also impacted my cricket,” he recalled.
His match day routine has also changed in IPL 2024. But Avesh does find time to strategies with the whole RR unit to keep opposition in check, like how they kept RCB on a leash in the last five overs by using shorter boundary.
“I get up only at 2:00pm on match days so there is no time to think that much. You can do whatever you can to build mental toughness but until you are not in a position to have faced the challenges repeatedly, you cannot overcome them. I acknowledge all that, but when (as a batter) you need 10-12 runs in an over, you forget everything and focus on execution.”
“We talk about small things in the team meetings. We bowled well in the final two overs (he conceded only five runs in the 19th over and Sandeep Sharma gave 13 runs) and it made a huge difference.”
“Our target was that much smaller and they realised that their total (172 for eight) was under par. They could have easily raced away to 180-185. We discuss these points. We try to use the dimensions of the ground and exploit the weaknesses of the batsmen,” he concluded.
