Rashid Khan opened up on his batting ahead of the IPL 2022 final between the Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, and hopes to unleash his trademark ‘snake shot’ if required.
The IPL 2022 is all set for its decisive close with the new entrants Gujarat Titans set to take on the 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 29.
GT have been the most consistent side in the tournament thus far, topping the league stage with 10 wins from 14 games, and later making it to the final with a thrilling last-over win against RR. A feature of their success has been the all-round bowling unit, and a strong middle-order, that has stood strong to win games from challenging situations.
While Hardik Pandya and David Miller have fired consistently, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan have stood strong whenever the opportunity has presented itself.
Rajasthan Royals & Gujarat Titans will take each other on in the finals of #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/CMDsJ2kReP
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) May 27, 2022
Rashid has created an impact with the bat, his secondary discipline, more than once, having produced game-changing cameos against the Chennai Super Kings (40 off 21) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (31* off 11) in the league stage. He opened up on his progress as a batter in IPL 2022.
“I batted a bit higher than where I was batting before. The other thing is confidence. It is given by the coaching staff, the captain and all the players. They believed I would be able to perform. That is the kind of energy you need as a player and that has been given to me,” Rashid said in a virtual press conference on Saturday.
“There are more batting practice sessions for me, batting more than before and the belief that everyone has on me, that this guy can deliver and score some runs for the team, crucial runs. I always had that belief that I can score those 20-25 runs for the team at the end, if the team needs it.”
Rashid also spoke about his trademark ‘snake shot’, which involves a strong whippage from inside the crease to generate enough power to hit flat sixes.
“Everyone loves that shot and everyone loves me to play it,” he said. “Even fans have so many requests about it, but I don’t really think about it. If there is such kind of a ball, my hands automatically go there (playing snake shot). Because if the ball is in those areas, I don’t have many options.
“If I get an opportunity in the final, although, I hope I don’t get to bat in the final and the top order finish the game for us, but if I do get an opportunity, and get the ball in that area, I will go for it. It’s a big ground to play that shot, but I will try. If it goes for six, I will be happy, if not, maybe it will be four.”
This will be Rashid’s second appearance in an IPL final, after having played the 2018 title clash for his former franchise SRH, who had come second to MS Dhoni’s CSK.
