IPL 2021: It was a big mistake – Gautam Gambhir on Avesh Khan bowling the 19th over

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir reckons Rishabh Pant made a big mistake as he gave the ball to Avesh Khan for the 19th over against Chennai Super Kings at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

24 runs were required off the final two overs and Khan conceded 11 runs off the penultimate over. Gambhir said that Pant should have given the ball to the premier bowler, Kagiso Rabada, who is known for his accurate death bowling and express pace.

Avesh Khan was expensive in his four overs spell as he conceded 47 runs and scalped a solitary wicket. In fact, Avesh had also conceded 20 runs off his second over, which was the last over of the powerplay. Thus, the youngster, who has thus far impressed in the ongoing season with 23 wickets in 15 matches, didn’t have the best of the days against CSK.

On the other hand, Kagiso Rabada had bounced back well after bowling an expensive first over in which he conceded 14 runs. Rabada then bowled his next two overs for only nine runs but he was surprisingly not backed by DC captain Rishabh Pant.

Gautam Gambhir said while talking to ESPN Cricinfo, “It was a big mistake. You’ve got to back your premier fast bowler ahead of Avesh Khan. Even though Khan picked up the important wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad, I would have still gone with Rabada for the 19th over.”

Meanwhile, the former KKR skipper gave credit to CSK skipper MS Dhoni for promoting Robin Uthappa to number three. Uthappa hadn’t grabbed his chance in the earlier matches but the experienced batter stepped up when it mattered the most. The stylish right-hander scored 63 runs off just 44 balls and added 110 runs for the second wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad.

“Credit goes to Dhoni for sending Utthapa to no.3. He also had the option of sending Moeen Ali ahead of him. But the good thing is that he persisted with him. Uthappa has always liked pace on the ball and enjoys batting higher up the order.”

CSK was able to get over the line after MS Dhoni smashed 18 runs off just six balls he faced and the team has booked their place in the IPL final for the ninth time.