IPL 2022: 3 best Avesh Khan spells in the tournament
The league stage of IPL 2022 is in its last week and tonight's match is an absolute ripper. The Lucknow Super Giants will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 66th match of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Cricket Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
So far this season, KKR have won six and lost seven matches while LSG have won eight and lost five. When the IPL teams faced each other earlier this season, LSG won by a whopping margin of 75 runs.
LSG need to win one more game to seal their spot in the IPL playoffs and their team has been phenomenal throughout the league. The opening pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul have been brilliant with the bat, but have been off-colour in the last few matches.
Deepak Hooda has been a crucial contributor in the middle order. With the ball, Mohsin Khan, Jason Holder, and Ravi Bishnoi have carried the team till here but another major seamer in the squad has been Avesh Khan.
In just 11 games, Khan has picked up 17 wickets at an economy rate of 7.8. Moreover, he needs just four more scalps to join the 50-wicket club in the cash-rich league. A true asset to whichever team he is a part of, Avesh Khan brings in pace and intelligence while bowling in high-pressure games.
On that note, let's take a look at Khan's three best bowling spells in the competition's history.
#1 3/32 - DC vs RR in IPL 2021
In the seventh game of IPL 2021, Khan proved his worth to the Delhi camp in a close encounter. Batting first, Delhi Capitals openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were dismissed in under 20 runs. The middle-order seemed to struggle too but captain Rishabh Pant's half-century helped DC reach 147/8.
In response, Jos Butler, Manan Vohra and RR skipper Sanju Samson were sent back by Chris Woakes and Kagiso Rabada in under 20 runs as well. With Shivam Dube and David Miller on the ground, the challenge for the Delhi bowlers just became intense.
However, Avesh Khan stepped up and dismissed Shivam Dube before he could settle. David Miller snatched the game away from the Capitals with his brilliant half-century.
Avesh Khan returned to dismiss David Miller and Riyan Parag. However, his 3/32 was in vain as Chris Morris' 36* (18) helped Rajasthan cross the line with three wickets and two balls to spare.
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#2 3/13 - DC vs KKR in IPL 2021
Avesh Khan recorded his best figures of the season against KKR in 2021, but this too was in a losing effort. Batting first yet again, Delhi openers Steve Smith and Shikhar Dhawan got their side off to a good start with a 35-run stand. However, once Dhawan fell, no one could withstand the might of the KKR bowlers.
Delhi were restricted to a mere 127/9 and in response, KKR openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer started going after the Delhi bowlers. Iyer soon fell and the hitting subsided as Avesh Khan came in to take the prized scalps of Rahul Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik.
Unfortunately for him, there was no stopping Nitish Rana. Avesh Khan returned to pick up the wicket of Tim Southee but Sunil Narine's pinch-hitting at the death helped KKR chase down the target with three wickets to spare.
#3 4/24 - LSG vs SRH in IPL 2022
Avesh Khan picked up his career-best figures in the IPL against SRH this year. SRH opted to bowl and LSG skipper KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda's fifties powered LSG to 169/7.
With a big target in sight, Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson decided to go after the LSG bowlers. Avesh Khan, though, had other plans. He picked up the scalps of both Williamson and Sharma in under 40 runs. Khan later returned to dismiss the dangerous Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad.
Avesh Khan's 4/24 helped restrict Hyderabad to 157/9 and won him the Player of the Match award.