"Had he got dismissed, Gujarat could have lost the game" - Virender Sehwag on Rashid Khan's heroics against CSK in IPL 2023
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag feels Rashid Khan's cameo of 10*(3) rescued the Gujarat Titans (GT) from a tricky situation against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 1 of IPL 2023 in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Rashid got the strike when GT needed 18 runs off just nine balls with Rahul Tewatia struggling for timing at the other end. Moreover, they didn't have any recognized batters left and it felt like CSK were just one wicket away from exposing GT's long tail.
However, the Afghanistan star showed why he is rated as an all-rounder, smashing a boundary and a six and calming things down in the GT camp. Speaking to Crizbuzz, Virender Sehwag explained how crucial Rashid Khan's innings was in the context of the chase. He said:
"Rashid Khan's specialty is that he doesn't take any pressure on himself while batting. His mindset is always to score those crucial boundaries and help his team win. Had he got dismissed, Gujarat could have lost the game because while chasing 15-16 in the final over, the pressure is always on the batting side."
Virender Sehwag on GT's learnings from first win of IPL 2023
Virender Sehwag opined that although GT won the game, they could have played some match-ups smartly. He feels that with left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner operating, Gujarat could have sent left-hander Rahul Tewatia ahead of Vijay Shankar.
Sehwag also spoke about the importance of the set batter finishing the game and stated:
"Gujarat could have thought of sending Tewatia after Hardik's wicket as being a leftie, it would have been easy for him to play with the spin and also hit sixes as Tewatia has that experience in domestic cricket. They need to look at the left-hand-right-hand combination, which will only get better once Miller is back in the middle order. They also need to learn that a set batter has to finish the game."
GT have suffered a huge blow with Kane Williamson being reportedly ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury that he sustained during the game on Friday.