'Avesh Khan was fantastic': Rishabh Pant showers ultimate praise on pacer after RR vs LSG thriller

In the 36th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took on the Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday, April 19.

Lucknow Super Giants won the IPL 2025 match against the Rajasthan Royals by 2 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Also Read: Watch: Avesh Khan gets injured while defending 9 runs in last over in RR vs LSG thriller

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These kind of matches build character - Rishabh Pant

Electing to bat first in the match, the Lucknow Super Giants posted a decent score of 180/5 on the board, thanks to good performances from Aiden Markram, Ayush Badoni, and Abdul Samad. Defending the total, they took the game deep, and Avesh Khan defended 9 runs in the last over to finish off the game.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Rishabh Pant said that he was delighted with the victory, as such wins build character. He stated:

"(Relief or happy?) I think both. These kind of matches build character. It was an amazing win. As a team, this is going to take us to a different level."

All the credit to the bowlers - Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant also gave all credit for the victory over the Rajasthan Royals to his bowling unit. He said:

"These are the positive things we always talk about. We are going to do better as a team. All the credit to the bowlers holding their nerves at the right time."

Rishabh Pant further lauded Avesh Khan for his fantastic performance and for the way he defended 9 runs in the last over. He said:

"It's not easy, especially when we're always behind the game. They played brilliantly, but our bowlers kept their nerve, especially Avesh, who was fantastic. (On the final over) The idea was to take your own time, execute the plan with a clear mindset, taking one ball at a time. We are moving in a positive direction. Just enjoying the win as of now."

How did LSG perform in the previous IPL match against RR?

Lucknow Super Giants suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Rajasthan Royals on April 27 at their home ground in Lucknow. Despite posting a competitive 196/5, LSG failed to defend the total and were outplayed by Rajasthan Royals.

After opting to bat first, LSG were rattled as they lost Quinton de Kock and Marcus Stoinis within the first two overs. At 11/2, KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda batted well to help LSG recover from the setbacks.

Rahul smashed 76 off 48 balls, while Hooda slammed 50 off 31 deliveries as the duo stitched a 115-run stand. At 126/2 in the 13th over, it looked like the Super Giants would easily breach the 200-run mark, but that didn't happen.

Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Hooda, and Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan removed Nicholas Pooran and Rahul as LSG finished with 196/5.

With the ball, LSG started decently and dismissed both the openers - Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal - inside 7 overs, while Amit Mishra dismissed Riyan Parag in the 9th over, reducing RR to 78/3.

However, they were not able to capitalize on the good start as Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel took the game away from them with a unbeaten 121-run stand, and the run-chase was completed in the 19th over.