A wicket-less spell the highlight! - Rashid Khan's titanic contribution
Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya likened Rashid Khan's bowling performance in the first IPL playoff match to magic, as the Afghanistan superstar once again proved difficult to play.
"When I give him (Rashid Khan) the ball, I just relax and let him do his magic."
Using the word magic, Pandya linked Khan's concession of just 15 runs from his four overs to the outcome of the match.
Three stars of Gujarat in Qualifier 1:
David Miller - 68*(38)
Rashid Khan - 0/15(4)
Hardik Pandya - 1/14(2) & 40*(27) https://t.co/3py0vHdy5Z
He registered an economy rate of just 3.75 runs per over, while the other 10 bowlers used in the match combining for an economy rate of 10.23. Without giving an inch to the batters, he beat the edge of the bat for fun.
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How Rashid Khan weaved his magic against Rajasthan Royals?
The Eden Gardens pitch was certainly grippy and two-paced, playing right into Rashid Khan's strengths as he turned the ball both ways at varied speeds. He landed the ball on his typical length - slightly short of a good length - making nearly every shot in the book a risky one for the batters.
At the same time, he targeted the stumps, giving batters simply no room for anything pre-meditated to combat his lengths.
During the ninth over of the match, Khan sent down a pearler of a delivery. It was a legbreak that pitched on or around middle stump and then beat the outside edge of Rajasthan Royals batter Jos Buttler, as he hurriedly and worryingly fended the ball to no avail from deep in his crease.
What a spell by Rashid Khan in Qualifier 1:
4-0-15-0.
- The GOAT of T20 cricket. https://t.co/56guW7DqIc
The ball typified his influence on the game as he delivered countless more deliveries akin to that one. Khan's final two deliveries of his spell (16th over of the Royals' innings) were blocked straight back to the bowler by Shimron Hetmeyer - even in a T20 playoff match.
That is to say a full-faced defensive shot back to the bowler for no run (not a defensive push for a single or a ball that beat the bat). It suggested that the Royals considered it the best result from those two deliveries by Khan.
Rashid Khan's impact on the final result
Rashid Khan's influence in the game was largely how he counteracted the Royals' greatest weapon and arguably the player of the tournament, Jos Buttler.
Buttler struggled for fluency during the early stages of his innings, and was afforded "dollops of fortune" as Harsha Bhogle described it on commentary. After trudging to 39 off 38 deliveries, Buttler was able to smash 50 from his next 18 balls, more or less after Khan was done with his quota (four overs bowled).
Jos Buttler was on 39 off 38.
He hit 50 off his next 18 deliveries.
#IPL2022 https://t.co/Jva51YQWdC
Rajasthan finished with a total of 188/6 from their 20 overs, with their captain Sanju Samson stating that the pitch was certainly more difficult to bat on in the first innings.
But an incredible run chase saw the Titans' run down their target (191/3), combining for a match total of 379 runs between the two sides. Just 15 of those 379 came off Khan's bowling, compunding his value and highlighting his performance in real terms.
The Titans still needed 16 runs to win off the last over, but how many more would it have been if he conceded 20 runs? 25 runs? or 30 runs?
Top team effort and into the finals !! 
One step closer!! 🙌 Top team effort and into the finals !!
Will be putting our all on Sunday 👊
#AavaDe #GujaratTitans #SeasonOfFirsts https://t.co/fDyKjmvz2W
With no wickets to his name, but also no fours or sixes hit against him, you'd be forgiven for thinking he had no stake in the match's highlights. But his stemming of the Rajasthan Royals' run flow was arguably the difference in the game.
Numbers don't always tell the tale!