May 22 turned out to be a bittersweet ending for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Dinesh Karthik. The wicketkeeper-batter retired after RCB were beaten by four wickets by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 eliminator clash. However, Karthik had luck on his side when he was batting. He was given out lbw on the first ball he faced from Avesh Khan and was not sure whether he got some bat on it but he reviewed it and the third umpire Anil Chaudhary overturned it. The decision made RR’s head coach and director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara furious but Avesh decided to downplay the controversy.
"When you are bowling, emotions are quite high. At that time, every bowler would ask for a review. When it was shown on the big screen, I had some doubt. I think the benefit of the doubt went to DK bhai. The umpires took the right decision," Avesh said in the post-match press conference.
There was a clear spike on the ultraedge when the ball passed the bat. It looked that Karthik was not out from the side on angle. However, the bat seemed to be hitting the pad at the same time as well which could have led to the spike.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter could not make the most of the second chance. He managed to score just 11 runs from 13 balls.
Avesh has picked up 16 wickets from 15 games in the season. In the previous season, he took eight wickets from nine games for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The pacer said that the reason behind a lacklustre season with LSG was fatigue as he played 10 Ranji Trophy games.
"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," Avesh added.
Avesh will be seen in action again when RR take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2 at MA Chidambaran Stadium, Chennai.
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