Rashid Khan’s Four-Wicket Haul Guides Gujarat Titans To Play-Offs, Spinner Reaches Major T20 Milestone

IPL 2022, LSG vs GT: Rashid Khan took four wickets as Gujarat Titans defeated Lucknow Super Giants, winning by 62 runs. The Hardik Pandya-led side also qualified for the playoffs.

On Tuesday, Rashid Khan achieved a huge T20 milestone during Gujarat Titans’ (GT) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The spinner took four wickets for 24 runs as GT cruised past LSG, winning by 62 runs and also qualifying for the playoffs. The Afghan spinner’s four-wicket haul helped him reach 450 wickets across all T20s, becoming the third bowler to do so after Dwayne Bravo and Imran Tahir.

Khan’s figures of 4/24 are his best-ever haul in the IPL. “I think those couple of games which didn’t go well, it was all about my line and length. That was something I was missing in those games. The kind of pace I bowl and action I have, I cannot afford to lose my line and length and that was something I missed in two or three games. It was all about focusing on hitting the right area,” Khan said after the match.

“The wicket was helping today and there was bounce and turn but overall it was just about my length. I have to bowl the right area, right length, and I will be able to pick wickets and make the run rate go higher.”

He picked his favourite dismissal among his four wickets too. “The wicket I got Jason Holder, that was a very crucial wicket at that time. We knew he’s someone who can take the game away. So his wicket is something, I had planned to bowl that leggie from middle stump and I was expecting it to go to slip but leg before was something. That wicket I enjoyed a lot,” he said.

After winning the toss, GT captain Hardik Pandya opted to bat. An unbeaten knock of 63 runs off 49 balls by Shubman Gill helped GT post 144 for four in 20 overs, setting a target of 145 runs. Meanwhile, David Miller registered 26 runs off 24 balls for Lucknow.

Chasing a target of 145 runs, LSG were bowled out for 82 in 13.5 overs with Rashid taking four wickets.

Meanwhile, Deepak Hooda was the highest run-scorer for LSG with a knock of 27 runs off 26 balls.

In the ongoing season, Rashid has taken 15 wickets and has become a crucial cog in Pandya’s plans.

Overall, Rashid has played 323 hames in T20s, taking 450 wickets.

The Afghan is also known for his power-hitting skills in T20 cricket and is also two sixes away from 100 T20 maximums! Earlier this season, he had also completed 100 wickets in IPL recently.