Did not bowl, bat, take a catch or effect a run out - Adil Rashid's rare achievement
Nobody might be feeling as lucky and unfortunate at the same time as England leg-spinner Adil Rashid. The England spinner was part of the side that steamrolled India by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London. In a match where nearly no shortcomings were faced by the hosts - be it batting, bowling or even fielding, Adil Rashid has created a unique record on his own.
England pace bowlers James Anderson (9 wickets), Stuart Broad (5), Chris Woakes (4) and Sam Curran (1) picked up 19 of the 20 Indian wickets, while Pujara's run out in the first innings was the sole exception. While batting, eight English batsmen combined to form a total of 396/7, after which they declared. Among the best scorers were Chris Woakes (137), Jonny Bairstow (93), and Sam Curran (40).
Adil Rashid, however, does not have his name written anywhere on the scoreboard.
England captain Joe Root never needed to make use of Rashid's leg-spin, with the ball swinging prodigiously. Root also declared their innings at 396 at the fall of the seventh wicket, just as Rashid was ready to come in. Rashid also did not take a catch, with most of the catches going behind the wicket.
There is a chance that he may be feeling dismayed at not having made any contribution to the historic win, but that could have vanished as soon as he pocketed the match fee without having to virtually do anything. Talk about being struck by luck.
Rashid on Sunday thus became just the 14th player in the 141-year-old history of Test cricket, and the first Englishman in 13 years to complete a Test match without bowling, batting, taking a catch or effecting a run-out throughout the game.
The last such instance was in 2005 when former England leg-spinner Gareth Batty faced a similar situation when England ousted Bangladesh by an innings and 261 runs.