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Rashid Khan has been one of the most phenomenal overseas players to come out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in recent years. The Afghan spinner has been the most trusted option for his teams due to his pressure-handling capability and tricks in his armory.
With focus on the batting front as well, Rashid has tonked the bowlers hard on a few occasions, helping the team prevail in nerve-wracking moments. Currently playing for the Gujarat Titans (GT), he has scalped 145 wickets and scored 472 runs in the cash-rich league.
On that note, let's check out three occasions when the 25-year-old stole the limelight with his all-round performances.
#3 24* & 1/18 vs RR, 2024
In the recent encounter on Wednesday (April 10), the Gujarat Titans were up against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Batting first, the Royals lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) in the fifth over. The last over of the powerplay witnessed Rashid Khan dismissing Jos Buttler (8). Although Riyan Parag (76) and Sanju Samson (68*) were impactful to take RR to 196, Rashid was terrific with figures of 1/18 in four overs.
Shubman Gill (72) and Sai Sudharsan (35) then provided a good start to the Titans, after which the pair of Rahul Tewatia (22) and Shahrukh Khan (14) kept the team in the hunt. In the end, Rashid Khan slammed 24* off 11 and helped the Titans secure a victory off the last ball of the innings.
#2 34* & 3/19 vs KKR, 2018
In this game, Rashid Khan's SunRisers Hyderabad were up against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2018.
Batting first, Hyderabad were off to a good start, thanks to Wriddhiman Saha (35) and Shikhar Dhawan (34). In the middle order, Shakib Al Hasan (28) and Deepak Hooda (19) were the contributors.
However, the SunRisers were not up to the mark with their run rate. Coming in at No. 8, Rashid displayed his ball-striking abilities to hit 34* off 10, with two fours and four sixes. His magnificient cameo paved the way for the team to post 160 on the board.
Thereafter, the leg-spinner picked up wickets of Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell to finish with figures of 3/19 in four overs. As a result, Hyderabad won by 14 runs and qualified for the final.
#1 79* & 4/30 vs MI, 2023
In May 2023, Rashid Khan produced his best-ever performance in an IPL game, albeit in a losing cause against the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Batting first, Ishan Kishan (31) and Rohit Sharma (29) provided a flying start to Mumbai. However, Rashid sent them packing in quick succession. In his second spell, he went on to dismiss Nehal Wadhera and Tim David as well.
Although Suryakumar Yadav played a sensational knock of 103* off 49 balls, Rashid returned figures of 4/30 in four overs.
Chasing a mammoth target of 219, the Titans lost their key players, Shubman Gill (6) and Hardik Pandya (4), early. David Miller (41) and Vijay Shankar (29) were impressive with their positive intent, but could not convert their scores into big knocks.
Just when it looked like the Titans were approaching a big loss, Rashid Khan unleashed his pandora's box of uncanny shots to entertain the Wankhede crowd. He went on to remain unbeaten on 79* off 32, with three fours and 10 sixes, as Mumbai won by 27 runs.
