Rashid Khan's 5 best batting cameos in IPL history
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan has been one of the most sought-after T20 cricketers in the world. The 24-year-old has been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for six years now, representing the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) earlier and the Gujarat Titans (GT) now. He helped the Titans win last year's IPL with match-winning performances with both bat and ball.
The 2023 season of the Indian Premier League began with the defending champions Gujarat Titans emerging victorious against the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets. Chasing a competitive score of 178, the Titans were coasting for much of the innings on the back of Shubman Gill's elegant 63 off 36 balls.
However, the Super Kings pulled things back through tight bowling and timely wickets from Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
The game headed towards a last-ball finish when Rashid Khan entered at number seven with the Titans needing 18 off nine balls. He coolly struck a six and four off his first two balls to almost seal the game for his team.
Khan's cameo of 10 off three deliveries came when the match was seemingly in the balance and he pulled it in favor of the home team. The No. 1 ranked T20I bowler in the world had earlier delivered a decisive spell of 2/26 in his four overs. He won the Man of the Match award for his outstanding all-round performance.
Rashid also played a sensational knock of 48 from just 23 balls against Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup last year. That innings nearly won Afghanistan the game from a seemingly impossible position. The Afghan sensation has also played many crucial cameos in the IPL over the years.
Here, we look at five instances in IPL history where Rashid Khan produced a valuable batting cameo.
#1 40 off 21 balls vs. CSK, 2022
After spending five years with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise, Rashid Khan took his craft to the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2022. He helped propel the Titans on a magnificent run that culminated with them winning the title in 2022.
Along the way, Khan won the team many matches with his outstanding bowling. But he also played a couple of invaluable cameos that helped the Titans come back and win from difficult situations.
One such instance was Match 29 of the last season, where the Titans faced off against the IPL Champions from 2021, Chennai Super Kings. Batting first, CSK posted a respectable 169/5 in 20 overs. In reply, the Titans were struggling at 87/5 in the 13th over.
With the game seemingly out of hand, Rashid played a blistering knock of 40 from just 21 balls that helped GT snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with one ball to spare. The innings consisted of three sixes and two fours as he led an assault on Chris Jordan in the 18th over by scoring 22 off the first four balls.
Rashid Khan also captained the team in this match and played a massive role in the new franchise winning the IPL title.
#2 34* off 10 balls vs. KKR, 2018
The 2018 IPL saw Sunrisers Hyderabad take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a spot in the final against CSK. Sunrisers topped the points table in the group stages thanks to Rashid Khan, who picked up 21 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.8 runs per over.
The team, however, suffered a heartbreaking defeat in Qualifier 1 as they lost to eventual champions Chennai Super Kings from a winning position. This meant that the match against the Knight Riders was essentially a semifinal.
The Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field first at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Sunrisers' batters never got going and stuttered their way to 138/7 in 18 overs.
With SRH crawling towards 150, Rashid Khan came out to bat at no. 8 and put on an incredible show of stroke play. The all-rounder smashed 34 off 10 deliveries with 4 sixes and 2 fours as he helped SRH post an improbable 174/7 in their 20 overs.
.@rashidkhan_19 has been sensational today. A vital cameo, three wickets and a run out.
#VIVOIPL #SRHvKKR #Qualifier2 https://t.co/wL0sZ5Qebs
Rashid's cameo swung the momentum of the match in the Sunrisers' favor as they ended up winning by 14 runs, with Rashid picking up three wickets for just 19 runs.
#3 31* off 11 balls vs. SRH, 2022
A few days after pulling off his heroics against the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022, Rashid Khan was back at it again with another match-winning cameo. This knock was at the expense of his former team, the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
This time, the Titans were chasing a stiff target of 195 and were reduced to 140/5 in 16 overs.
With defeat seeming inevitable, the duo of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid put on an unbeaten partnership of 59 from 24 balls as the Titans won a thriller off the final ball of the match. Rashid scored an incredible 31 off just 11 balls with four towering sixes, helping Gujarat steal another win from a near-impossible situation.
The Titans needed a steep 15 off their final four deliveries when the Afghan all-rounder hit three sixes, including two in two balls, with the Titans requiring nine runs. Two match-winning cameos from him - against the Super Kings and the Sunrisers - helped Gujarat finish at the top of the points table.
#4 15* off 9 balls vs. RR, 2019
In the 2019 IPL, the Sunrisers were looking to go one step further after their disappointment of losing the final in 2018. SRH lost their first game of the season and were staring down the barrel in the second game after conceding a mammoth 198 to the Rajasthan Royals.
Openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow set up the run chase, but wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the side at a precarious 167/5 in 15.4 overs. Needing a further 32 of 26 deliveries, Rashid Khan joined hands with Yusuf Pathan and blazed away with 15 runs off eight balls to guide SRH to a comfortable five-wicket win.
#5 17* off 4 balls vs. CSK, 2018
The 2018 IPL season produced some humdingers in the league stages. One of them was when table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings faced off against each other.
Put into bat first, CSK scored an impressive 182-6 in their 20 overs. In reply, SRH stumbled to 71-4 in the 11th over when skipper Kane Williamson and middle-order batter Yusuf Pathan resurrected the innings with a partnership of 79.
However, both batters fell within 11 balls, with the Sunrisers still needing 26 off eight deliveries. With the game seemingly out of hand, Rashid Khan stunned the Super Kings as he smoked 17 off just four balls. His knock included sixes in the fourth and fifth balls of the final over.
This brought the equation to a six needed off the last ball, but Dwayne Bravo managed to hold his nerve and keep Rashid down to a single. CSK managed to win by four runs.
Rashid's sudden cameo breathed life into a seemingly finished contest and took it to the last ball.