Rashid Khan produced a Player of the Match performance to help Afghanistan level the series going into the final T20I.
After a surprising loss to Ireland in the first T20I of the series, Afghanistan were aiming to level the series in the second match and they did exactly that. Afghanistan elected to bat first after winning the toss but had a disastrous start. They were reduced to 14-4 before Mohammad Nabi (59 off 38 balls) and Sediqullah Atal (35 off 32 balls) revived the innings.
A late impetus from captain Rashid Khan helped them reach a competitive 152-9. In reply, Ireland could only muster 142-8 in their innings. Opener Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling gave them a good start but that wasn’t enough as their middle order batters lost wickets in clusters.
Gareth Delany tried his best with a 18-ball 39 but that only helped Ireland to reach closer to the target. Rashid Khan starred with the ball as well, taking 4-14 with his leg-spin while left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote took two wickets.
We have seen that before! 😄
Just @RashidKhan_19 being Rashid Khan! 🤩👏🙌#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvIRE2024 pic.twitter.com/yxRqBibMQf
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) March 17, 2024
During Afghanistan’s innings, Rashid Khan smashed an outrageous shot for a six. It was the last ball of the 18th over when Ireland fast bowler Barry McCarthy was bowling. McCarthy bowled a dipping full-toss at knee-height on Rashid’s pads.
Rashid Khan produced a scintllating no-look shot over deep square leg for a gigantic six. The ball went over the Sachin Tendulkar stand and landed straight onto the roof of Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The 25-year old held the pose for a few seconds and kept looking down on the pitch with his bat pointing upwards even after the ball had already crossed the ropes.
Rashid Khan has produced plenty of no-look shots during his career. In IPL too, he has been playing such shots with utmost class. With the ball, he took 4 wickets for just 14 runs as he dismantled Ireland’s middle order. Rashid had a terrific match with bat and ball and produced a captain’s performance to give Afghanistan a 10-run win.
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With the win, Afghanistan levelled the series 1-1 with one more game to go. After the series, Rashid Khan will leave for India for the upcoming edition of IPL, where he will be playing for Gujarat Titans.
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