Rashid Khan has sent the cricket world into pandemonium with an incredible match-winning knock for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.
Gujarat needed 22 off the final over to beat Hyderabad on Wednesday, and Rashid needed 15 off the final four deliveries when he got on strike.
The 2022 Indian Premier League witnessed yet another thriller on Wednesday night as Gujarat Titans produced a magnificent comeback to defeat Hyderabad by five wickets.
The duo of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan broke the Hyderabad hearts with an incredible 59-run stand-off just 24 deliveries, as Titans clinched their seventh win of the season.
Rashid Khan saved his best for the last over on Wednesday. Chasing 196 against Hyderabad, the odds were heavily stacked against Gujarat Titans as they needed 22 off the last six balls at the Stadium in Mumbai.
At the crease, Rahul and Khan, with left-arm pacer Marco Jansen bowling the last over. However, the duo was not unnerved as they got to the target of the last ball of the match to take GT to a five-wicket win. With this victory, GT have consolidated their NO. 1 position in the point's table with 14 points.
But before all that could happen, GT dugout had some nervous moments as Rahul and Rashid Khan had a tough task ahead of them.
Rahul hit Jansen for a six over deep mid-wicket off the first ball and then took a single. With the main batter off the strike, GT camp was jittery. But Khan hit a six straight down the ground on the third ball ,but the fourth ball was a dot.
With GT needing nine off two balls, Khan first sliced one for the maximum and then off the last ball hit another six to take his team to a win.
"Feels good, to go there and have that self-belief and keep my shape stronger and hit it, Happy to deliver against them, just trying to play my game and have that belief on my batting which I'm working from the last two years," Khan said after the match.
When it was 22 left. I just told Rahul that we have given 25 in the last over with one of our best bowler bowling and I told him that we needed to have that belief and not panic, anything is possible. Just stay there, keep your shape and hit it strong and that was the plan.
Gujarat were reeling at 140/5 in 16 overs in a 196-run chase, but Rashid (31*) joined Rahul (40*) to turn the match on its head and the pair hit four sixes between them to score the 22 runs required from the final over and win by five wickets.
Rahul hit the first six of the last over – bowled by Marco Jansen – while Rashid Khan stepped up against his former franchise as he hit three huge sixes to seal a memorable victory for the Titans. The win took Titans to the top of the table in the Indian Premier League 2022 table with 14 points in eight matches.
The Adelaide Strikers star isn't exactly known for his batting abilities, but the Afghanistan hero stunned the cricket world with three sixes to win the game.
Rashid smacked left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen for three maximums off the final four deliveries, including one off the final ball with three required.
His match-winning heroics not only carried Gujarat to 199-5, but also overshadowed fast bowler Umran Malik’s maiden five-wicket haul.
Hyderabad’s total of 195-6 revolved around half centuries from opening batter Abhishek Sharma (65) and Aiden Markram (56) after Gujarat won the toss and elected to field.
Shashank Singh (25 not out) gave Hyderabad the perfect finish to their innings with three-successive sixes off Lockie Ferguson’s last three balls as the New Zealand fast bowler conceded 25 runs off the final over.
Malik then demolished Gujarat's top-order with his fearsome yorkers that included the wicket of top-scorer Wriddhiman Saha (68), who was clean bowled off a delivery which was clocked at 153 km/h.
Malik regularly clocked over 140 km/h during his fearsome four-over spell as he knocked back the stumps of David Miller and Abhinvav Manohar on his last two deliveries that left Gujarat needing 56 runs off the last four overs.
The 22-year-old Malik struck hard on the right shoulder of Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya off the first delivery he faced, before Pandya mistimed a pull shot and was caught in the deep in the fast bowler’s second over.
But Rahul, who made an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls, and Rashid turned the game on its head.
Tewatia hit Jansen for six on the first ball of the final over before giving the strike to Rashid with a single.
The leg-spinner hit a six on the third delivery of the over, before a dot ball and then two more boundary-clearing blasts.
“I was just trying to play my game and have the belief in my batting which I’ve been working on the last two years,” Rashid said after the game.
“When it was 22 left, I just told Rahul that we have given 25 in the last over with our best bowler Ferguson.
"We just have to have that belief in ourselves … and luckily we had those four sixes.”
Cricket world erupts over 'insane' Rashid Khan heroics
Rashid's heroics were even more remarkable considering his nightmare day with the ball.
The T20 specialist appeared out of sorts as he returned figures of 0-45.
Hyderabad had won five games in a row while successfully chasing down targets, but have lost their other three games this season after batting first.
“It was a fantastic game of cricket that ebbed and flowed throughout the whole 40 overs really,” Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson said.
“I was just trying to play my game and have the belief in my batting which I’ve been working on the last two years,” Rashid said after the game.
“When it was 22 left, I just told Rahul that we have given 25 in the last over with our best bowler Ferguson. We just have to have that belief in ourselves … and luckily we had those four sixes.”
Earlier, Hyderabad’s total of 195-6 revolved around half centuries from opening batter Abhishek Sharma (65) and Aiden (56) after Gujarat won the toss and elected to field. Among bowlers, Umran Malik took all of the Titans' five wickets as he clinched his maiden five-wicket haul in Indian Premier League.
This was Hyderabad third loss of the season as Titans ended their five-match winning streak.
Credit to Gujarat, they played outstandingly well.
They’re a side that are winning some of those fine margins at the moment and credit to where they are on the table.
The cricket world was left in disbelief over the insane scenes.
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