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In the last few years, we have witnessed a wave of leg-spinners sweeping through the game of cricket and Afghanistan’s 20-year-old Rashid Khan is the leading name in that list.
His cleverly disguised googly has bamboozled batsmen all over the world and even Virat Kohli is not an exception to that.
Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Rashid Khan’s services for 4 crore rupees in the 2017 IPL auction and he achieved the distinction of being the first Afghan cricketer to play in India’s premier T20 tournament.
The white-ball magician proved his worth with the ball in the first season with 17 wickets from 14 matches. He continued to dazzle in the second year as well and added 21 wickets to his kitty.
Rashid Khan has played 31 IPL matches so far and has captured a total of 38 wickets while conceding only 6.68 runs per over. The leg-spinner has played a huge role in turning SRH into a bowling-dominated unit and in his brief career, he has already earned six Man of the Match Awards.
Following are the three are his most memorable performances in the IPL so far:
#3 3/19 against Gujarat Lions (2017)
After picking up two wickets in his IPL debut, it did not take long for Rashid Khan to reveal his bowling magic. In only his second match, the Afghani leg-spinner earned his first Man of the Match award. The stunning performance happened in the sixth match of the 2017 IPL.
Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and made Gujarat Lions to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Lions’ openers Jason Roy and Brendon McCullum raced off to a blitzing start of 32/0 in three overs.
Captain David Warner then brought Rashid Khan into the attack and the move paid off immediately as in his first over, Rashid conceded only three runs and trapped McCullum LBW. The leg-spinner then dismissed Aaron Finch with another googly in his next over.
Maintaining the flow of wickets, Rashid removed Suresh Raina with another LBW decision in his third over. The Afghan bowler rounded off his match-winning spell with the figures of 3/19.
The Gujarat team finished at 135/7 in 20 overs. Sunrisers Hyderabad chased the total down in just 15.3 overs with the loss of a solitary wicket and Rashid Khan was adjudged the Man of the Match for his sterling bowling spell.
#2 2/11 against Mumbai Indians (2018)
Mumbai Indians’ plan of gifting Sachin Tendulkar with a win on his birthday failed as Rashid Khan and his fellow Sunrisers bowlers pulled off a miracle at the Wankhede Stadium in 2018. The home team had earlier stopped the SRH batsmen for only 118 runs in 18.4 overs.
Defending such a modest total, Captain Williamson decided to keep his ace bowler Rashid Khan at the back. When the Afghan magician stepped on to bowl, MI had labored to 50/3 in nine overs.
While Rashid conceded only two runs in his opening over, in his second over, he caught Krunal Pandya plumb in front to put Mumbai Indians in some serious trouble. The leg-spinner sent back the dangerous Kieron Pollard back in the next over and conceded only two runs off the remaining five balls.
17th and Rashid’s final over was a testament to this leg-spinner’s skill and guile. Even an explosive batsman of Hardik Pandya’s caliber had to keep quiet and play out a maiden against this little twirler.
SRH bowlers then skittled MI for just 87, thus winning the encounter by 31 runs. Rashid Khan was named Man of the Match for his amazing spell.
#1 3/19 against Kolkata Knight Riders (2018)
If there was one match which proved Rashid Khan as a T20 superstar then it was this. SRH lost against the Chennai Super Kings in the first Qualifier of IPL 2018 and another defeat versus Kolkata Knight Riders would send them out of the tournament. But, Rashid Khan decided to take matters in his own hands this time.
Coming out to bat at number eight, Rashid struck a ferocious 34 from just 10 balls. The knock which included two fours and four sixes propelled Hyderabad’s score from 134 to 174.
Knight Riders, though, enjoyed a flying start and raced to 67/1 in the powerplay but Rashid Khan employed the breaks to the scoring immediately with a three-run over.
He subsequently removed Robin Uthappa on the first ball of his second over but conceded two boundaries as well. But, his next two overs turned the match on its head.
Rashid gave away only five runs in his last two overs when KKR needed around nine runs per over. He also prized out the wickets of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell, both batsmen capable winning the match single-handedly.
Rashid broke the back of KKR’s chasing effort and marshaled SRH into the IPL final with a 14-run win. He was named the Man of the Match for this all-round performance.
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