IND vs WI 2nd T20: Rohit Sharma reveals reason behind giving last over to Avesh Khan ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Avesh Khan bowled no-ball off the first delivery and was smashed for a six and four off the next balls by Devon Thomas as West Indies levelled the five-match T20 series at 1-1 with a hard-fought five wicket win.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (left) and Arshdeep Singh. (Source: Twitter)

The second T20I match between India and West Indies went down to the wire although Rohit Sharma’s side had posted a modest score of 138 after batting first. With Arshdeep Singh bowling a sensational penultimate over to dismiss Rovman Powell and conceded just 6 runs, West Indies needed 9 runs off the final over to win. Skipper Rohit decided to give the ball to young Avesh Khan instead of the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had just bowled 2 overs in the innings.

The Lucknow Super Giants pacer bowled no-ball off the first delivery and was smashed for a six and four off the next balls by Devon Thomas as West Indies levelled the five-match T20 series at 1-1 with a hard-fought five wicket win.

After the match, Rohit revealed the reason why Avesh Khan was handed the final over ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. “We know Bhuvneshwar, what he brings to the table, but if you don’t give opportunity to Avesh or Arshdeep you will never find out what it means to bowl at the death for India. They have done it in the IPL. Just one game, those guys don’t need to panic. They need backing and opportunity,” India captain Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation.

“It’s all about giving opportunity. I am proud of the team. When you are defending a target like that, it can end in 13-14 overs or you try to drag it to the last over. Guys kept fighting, it was important to take wickets. The planning we did, the guys came and executed,” he added.

Watch Devon Thomas hit the winning runs off Avesh Khan here...

.@Avesh_6's untimely no-ball served perfectly for Windies, and #DevonThomas hit a stylish four to secure the win!

Watch the India tour of West Indies LIVE, exclusively on #FanCode https://t.co/RCdQk1l7GU@BCCI @windiescricket#WIvIND #INDvsWIonFanCode #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/toZ2wgKrkX — FanCode (@FanCode) August 1, 2022

Rohit, who was dismissed for a first-ball duck, was not pleased by effort of his batters in the first innings. “It was not enough runs on the board for us. We didn't bat well. Pitch was playing quite nicely but we didn’t apply ourselves. But that can happen. I have said again and again that when you are trying something as a batting group, it won’t work out always. We will try to see our mistakes and look to correct them,” the Indian captain felt.