Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan’s reputation in T20 cricket is nothing to be scoffed at. The No.1 ranked T20I bowler in the world is quite simply one of the toughest nuts to crack for any batsmen with his miserly economy rates.
In both franchise and international cricket, the Afghan leg-spinner has a career economy rate of less than six runs an over, a feat which is almost unparalleled by any other bowler in the format.
It speaks volumes about the young man’s ability that only former New Zealand spin ace Daniel Vettori has a lower economy rate (5.7) than Rashid’s (5.86) in international T20 cricket. Hence, it has been a slight shock to the system for the 19-year-old prodigy in this year’s edition of the IPL when he was taken to the cleaners for two consecutive matches.
First, Chris Gayle’s stunning assault saw Rashid concede 1-55 in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s loss to Kings XI Punjab. Then, another expensive spell of 1-49 followed in the side’s defeat to Chennai Super Kings.
Very interesting to see batsmen attacking Rashid Khan this way. This is how it is at this level of cricket. Players always find a way to tackle you. Now Rashid must come back with an answer.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2018
As such, the spotlight was well and truly on the Afghan spinner when Hyderabad lined up to take on Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday. Rashid’s skipper Kane Williamson had backed the teenager to bounce back strongly ahead of the clash.
And that is exactly what Rashid did and he did it with oomph and style. With Sunrisers defending a paltry total of 118, the youngster put in arguably the best bowling performance of the tournament so far to lead his side to a magnificent victory over the defending champions.
He removed the well-set Krunal Pandya with his very first over before sending back Mumbai Indians danger-man Kieron Pollard. While these two wickets were as crucial as they get, it was what Rashid did with his final over that showed his utter class.
4⃣-1⃣-1⃣1⃣-2⃣
4⃣-0⃣-2⃣3⃣-3⃣
Figures that help you defend the lowest scores in #VIVOIPL! Rashid Khan, along with Siddarth Kaul guided #SRH to a thrilling win against #MI – their first ever victory at the Wankhede! pic.twitter.com/IcSN97KKi8— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 24, 2018
With big-hitting Hardik Pandya up against him, Rashid bowled a maiden in the 17th over of Mumbai’s innings to stun the Wankhede crowd into silence. The India all-rounder is a man who backs his ability to clear any boundary ropes and the fact that he was so watchful against Rashid’s leg-spin with the asking-rate going over 15 tells you all you need to know about the kind of impact the leg-spinner had on the match.
It was no surprise that the Afghanistan man picked up the man-of-the-match award for his sublime figures of 2-11 off his four overs.
Something so likeable about Rashid Khan. Prolific talent backed up with a great attitude. I’m a fan.
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 24, 2018
“Till you don’t get hit, you don’t learn. It happens, it’s a part of the game, I’m learning lot of things from it after giving up 55 and 49 runs in the last two games,” the teenager said after the game.
“It wasn’t expected from me but for my future, it was good for me because I learnt from that,” he added.
His willingness to learn from those expensive spells and then bounce back in such style has confirmed Rashid’s credentials as the world’s best T20 bowler, if there was ever any doubt. The scary part is that the teenager is only going to get better.
