Avesh Khan pulls off one of the best follow-through catches in IPL after Sanju Samson’s criticism

Avesh Khan, on Tuesday (April 16), pulled off one of the best follow-through catches to send back the dangerous Phil Salt in the ongoing game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

The England star was in stunning form, especially at the Eden Gardens. In two games at the venue in the ongoing IPL 2024, he had scored two half-centuries. He scored 54 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first game before scoring an unbeaten 89 against Lucknow Super Giants in the last game.

With Salt in form, RR needed something special to get rid of him. The visitors could have had his wicket in the very first over when he offered an easy catch to Riyan Parag even before opening his account. However, Parag dropped an absolute sitter at deep backward point.

But before Salt could inflict any severe damage on RR, Avesh Khan came up with a sensational catch to send him back. It was the third delivery of the fourth over and the right-arm pacer bowled one just outside the off stump. The KKR opener wanted to smash the ball hard past the bowler but ended up edging it.

However, he still looked safe at first as the ball was well wide of Avesh Khan. The RR bowler, however, was in no mood to squander the chance. He stuck his left hand out and made a timely dive to complete a sensational catch.

The catch was followed by an interesting celebration. As soon as he completed the catch, Avesh Khan pointed his fingers towards captain Sanju Samson. Later, he took one of the wicketkeeping gloves from his captain and showed it to the RR dugout as he and his teammates shared a laugh.

The celebration might be a reaction to Samson’s comments after the game against Punjab Kings last week. The RR fielders struggled to communicate well on the field while taking catches. In one instance, Samson and Avesh Khan collided with each other and ended up dropping a catch.

After the game, Samson had said: “We had few funny instances from last year and this year. But I am really happy that everyone is eager to go and catch. I would be very sad if people are just staying away and not catching it.

“It gets a bit tough actually – the stadium is full of noise and when people call, we are looking at the ball, we can’t look who is coming. I need to tell my fast bowlers that it’s a bit easier to catch with the gloves instead of hands.”