When Gujarat Titans were staring at defeat with the asking rate climbing came a welcome over (18th of the innings) from Chris Jordan. The batsman in strike was the unconventional Rashid Khan, the stand-in captain for Titans on Sunday against Chennai Super Kings after regular skipper Hardik Pandya was ruled out due to a stiff groin.
The asking rate for Titans was soaring with every passing over. Faced with a target of 170, Titans reached 58 for four at the half-way stage. Their only hope was David Miller, who was taking a majority of the strike even as wickets were falling at the other end. After the fifth wicket fell, that of Rahul Tewatia, in the 13th over, which was a wicket-maiden sent down by Dwayne Bravo, Titans needed another 83 in 42 balls.
That was when Rashid joined Miller. The Afghanistan all-rounder struggled initially to put bat to ball and it was a pain to see him not connect. Not only were the balls being consumed but also the runs were not coming. No matter Miller was dealing with the odd boundary, the asking rate was only climbing.
Then came the magical moment for Titans, and Rashid. When Titans were still facing an improbable task of scoring 48 in 18 balls, the England limited-overs specialist medium-pacer Jordan was taken to task by Rashid.
Himself under pressure for wasting deliveries, Rashid hit Jordan for 23 runs in the first five deliveries of the 18th over, the sequence being 6, 6, 4, 6, 1. Rashid, known worldwide for some unorthodox hitting, came very effective and his runs mattered the most in Titans winning by three wickets in the end. Rashid, who had scored eight runs in his first 12 balls, hit two successive sixes to start the 18th over – a swing to mid-wicket off his toes followed by a square-driven six to backward point. Off the third delivery of Jordan, Khan cleared the in-field for four to long-on boundary. Having scored 16 off the first three deliveries, Rashid hit another six, swatting Jordan over mid-wicket boundary. Off the fifth, he took a single to give David Miller the strike, who picked up a two off the last ball of the 18th over.
The 25 runs from the 18th over brought down the equation to 23 runs needed off 12 deliveries, which was easily possible and quite the norm in today’s T20 cricket.
Taking strike to Bravo in the first delivery of the 19th over, Rashid hit him straight with a horizontal bat for four, the ball beating the onrushing long-off fielder. That meant 27 runs from the last six deliveries that Rashid had faced. He made it 30 off the last seven when he again hit Bravo straight and picked up three. However, Rashid fell to a catch in the deep in continuing in the same vein.
By the time Rashid was out, he had scored 40 from 21 balls and shared 70 for the sixth wicket with Miller in 37 balls, Titans needed another 13 from seven balls, which was duly completed by Miller.
But for Rashid’s onslaught in the 18th over, Titans may have finished second best to CSK despite Miller’s efforts.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
