[Watch] Rashid Khan cleans up Ravichandran Ashwin with a ripper in the GT-RR clash
Gujarat Titans (GT) spinner Rashid Khan produced a corker of a delivery to clean up Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin in an IPL final rematch from a year ago in Jaipur on Friday, May 5.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Royals were struggling at 60-3 when they promoted Ashwin to tackle the Afghan spin duo of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad.
However, the move backfired as Ashwin misread a skiddy leg spinner by playing for a googly only to get castled by the brilliant Rashid Khan, leaving RR in further trouble at 63-4 in eight overs.
Here is a video of the ripper by Rashid Khan:
The Afghan spin twins spun a web around the RR batters the rest of the way, bowling them out for a below-par total of 118 in 17.5 overs. Rashid finished with incredible figures of 3/14 in his four overs, while Noor Ahmad ended up with 2/25 in his three overs.
Rashid Khan has had another spectacular season, picking up 18 wickets in just ten games at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 8.09 runs per over.
"During our team meets you ensure we don’t bring up any points that might hurt others" - GT pacer Mohammed Shami on the general dressing room atmosphere
Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Mohammed Shami spoke about the mood in the camp ahead of the big game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur.
Shami stressed the importance of having a relaxed atmosphere and a positive environment in a long tournament like the IPL.
The Titans won the title last year in their maiden IPL season by defeating the Rajasthan Royals with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare in Ahmedabad.
Speaking ahead of the rematch with the Royals, Shami said:
"It is very important that the team atmosphere and mindset is good before starting such a big tournament like the IPL. The good thing here is that all the players are relaxed, and even during our team meets you ensure we don’t bring up any points that might hurt others. It is important to keep a positive environment."
Shami also talked about the discussion around the team after the loss against the Delhi Capitals (DC) by saying:
"Our approach remains the same, because our bowling was very good, and these things can happen with the bat. When we are on top we tend to miss some basics, forget the important things. We perhaps got too relaxed so that reality check was also necessary. It comes at a good time for us, we will keep a positive mindset now for the games ahead."
Chasing 130 against the Capitals, GT got off to a bad start in the powerplay and ended up losing by five runs despite an outstanding bowling performance by the bowlers.
Despite that result, GT are still on top of the points table with six wins and three losses and primed to qualify for the playoffs.