Rashid Khan is definitely one of the most popular bowlers in today's cricket. The format of the game does not matter and all eyes are focused on the 20-year old whenever he is a part of the tournament.
The 20-year old has represented the country in 49 ODI matches since he made his debut in 2015 and went on to pick up 112 wickets in a very short span of time in the one-day internationals. He became the fastest bowler to 100 wickets in ODIs in March this year. He claimed it in just 44 matches.
With Asia Cup underway and Rashid Khan continuing his terrific form, both with the bat and the ball, now is the right time to take a look at three of his best bowling performances in the ODI cricket.
#3 5/24 vs Zimbabwe, 2018
Afghanistan was pitted against Zimbabwe for a 5-matches ODI series in UAE. The series was tied one-apiece after the first two ODIs and the focus shifted to the third ODI. In the third ODI, Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bat first.
Rashid Khan rattled through the batting lineup and torched them, picking up 5 wickets after conceding just 24 runs in 8.3 overs. The middle order batsmen had no answers for Rashid and he kept sending them back to the pavilion. The Zimbabwe team got bundled out for a mere 154 runs.
Afghanistan had no problems chasing this very paltry score and finished the game with 6-wickets remaining. Rashid Khan was presented the Man of the Match for single-handedly destroying the Zimbabwe batting lineup.
#2 6/43 vs Ireland, 2017
Ireland visited India for a 5-matches ODI series against Afghanistan in 2017. After winning the first match comprehensively, Afghanistan team was high on confidence and were looking to extend the lead.
In the second ODI, Afghanistan scored 338 all-out in 50 overs. Asghar Afghan exploded with a 101 off 90 performance and despite Stirling going for 6/55, the batting team managed to get to a very good score.
When the Ireland team came out to chase the total, Stirling scored 95 off 80 but did not get enough support from the lower order and Rashid Khan picked up 6 wickets to dismantle the team. Ireland scored 304 and lost the game by 34 runs. Stirling's sensational batting and bowling performance ended in a very sad loss for the team.
#1 7/18 vs West Indies, 2017
The Afghanistan cricket team toured West Indies for a 3-matches ODI series last year. In the first ODI, the visitors won the toss and chose to bat first, but were restricted to only 212-6 in 50 overs. Javed Ahmadi was the top scorer with 81 off 102.
In return, Gulbadin Naib gave the early breakthrough sending back the opener Powell for just 2 off 9 balls. Rashid Khan then took over and destroyed the batting lineup as he went for 7/18 in just 8.1 overs, including a maiden over.
The West Indies batsmen had no answer to Rashid Khan and suffered a very embarrassing defeat by 63 runs. Rashid Khan was rightly adjudged the Man of the Match.
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