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Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori reckons that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) cannot be overcautious against leg-spinner Rashid Khan in the IPL 2022 final on Sunday. According to him, by doing so, they would allow the Gujarat Titans (GT) bowling to get completely on top.
23-year-old Rashid stifled Rajasthan's batting in Qualifier 1, conceding only 15 runs in his four overs. Even Jos Buttler struggled against him. Although RR did well in the end to post 188 for 6, GT eased to victory by seven wickets.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, one of the big questions for Rajasthan is how to tackle the threat of Rashid Khan. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Vettori said that RR cannot allow the Afghanistan leg-spinner to dominate their batters completely. He opined:
“Letting him go for 0 for 15 in four overs just sets up all the rest of the bowlers. It makes it difficult for the batting side to gain any momentum. They (RR) need a game plan where they can get around 24-26 runs off him. I understand you want to restrict wickets, but in this game runs are going to be so important.”
Rashid Khan has claimed 18 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 22.38 and an excellent economy rate of 6.73. He is the second-leading wicket-taker for the franchise in IPL 2022 after pacer Mohammed Shami (19 wickets).
“I think RR will look to play out Rashid” - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sharing a slightly different view, former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar said that there is a good possibility of Rajasthan not taking any risks against the prolific GT leg-spinner. According to him, RR’s batters have enough options when it comes to attacking the other Gujarat bowlers. He commented:
“I think RR will look to play out Rashid. When you are looking at other bowlers, there are a few there. And if Hardik Pandya doesn’t bowl, there could be a few more bowlers that they can go after. Rashid is somebody that they can, maybe, play out. There are enough bowlers that they can go after.”
While the leggie conceded under four an over in Qualifier 1 against Rajasthan, most of the other bowlers proved expensive. Shami, Yash Dayal and R Sai Kishore all went for over 40 in their four overs. Pacer Alzarri Joseph conceded 27 runs in his two overs without claiming a wicket.
