"If they were not 55/5, Rashid Khan would have single-handedly won them the match" - Aakash Chopra picks GT all-rounder as his MVP
Aakash Chopra believes Rashid Khan would have single-handedly taken the Gujarat Titans (GT) to a win against the Mumbai Indians (MI) if their top-order batters had scored a few more runs.
MI set GT a massive 219-run target in their IPL 2023 clash in Mumbai on Friday, May 12. Rashid then smoked an unbeaten 79 off just 32 balls but couldn't take his team across the line as they lost the game by 27 runs.
While reviewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Rashid as the most valuable player (MVP), reasoning:
"The most valuable player of the match in my humble opinion is not Suryakumar Yadav. The most valuable player is Rashid Khan. If he had gotten a little help from someone else, if they were not 55/5, Rashid Khan would have single-handedly won them the match."
The former Indian opener pointed out that the Gujarat Titans leg-spinner stood out with the ball even though the Mumbai Indians posted a mammoth total, elaborating:
"218 runs were scored and in that he picked up four wickets, which included the wickets of both openers, then Nehal Wadhera's wicket and Tim David's wicket later. What more can anyone do?"
Rashid registered figures of 4/30 in his four-over spell. He dismissed Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan in the same over after the duo added 61 runs in the powerplay. He then got rid of Nehal Wadhera in his next over before dismissing Tim David with his final delivery.
"It happens very rarely" - Aakash Chopra on Rashid Khan's all-round performance
![Rashid Khan smashed three fours and 10 sixes during his innings. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/05/38cc1-16839512044906-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Rashid almost achieved the unique distinction of picking up five wickets and scoring a century in the same game, observing:
"The guy came and scored 79 not out as well. He hit 10 sixes, he beat up the opposition. This performance was like five wickets and a hundred. It happens very rarely. I think Andre Russell did that once."
The reputed commentator pointed out that it was a rare occasion when a swashbuckling century was overshadowed by another performance, stating:
"This performance in my opinion, without a shadow of doubt, yes ended up on the losing side, but the most valuable player has to be Rashid Khan. If it can ever happen that you score a century like this and there can be an even better performance than that, this was the game."
Although Rashid shone with bat and ball, Suryakumar Yadav was chosen as the Player of the Match. The Mumbai Indians batter smashed an unbeaten 103 off just 49 balls to help his team set the defending champions a difficult target, which proved enough in the end.