My Thoughts

Posts Tagged ‘Rashid Khan

Two matches and two losses is what Sun Risers Hyderabad’s resume reads in this season of IPL. In a tournament where teams are breaching 200 for fun SRH have scores of 153 and 142/4 in the two games they have batted so far. SRH have never been a batting team, far from it. They rely a lot on their bowling attack to bail them from shoddy batting displays. Their batting heavily relies on David Warner to score runs. The Australian has seldom disappointed as he has basically carried a weak batting lineup to a title win in 2016.

Jonny Bairstow since joining the franchise has been another great addition to the top order and has done exceedingly well in the games he has played. But after that the SRH batting barring Manish Pandey lacks any sort of punch. Multiple times last season we saw how their batting crumbled after Jonny Bairstow got out. Kane Williamson who does not find a place in the XI probably needs to get a look in to bolster a struggling top order.

SRH bowlers have always been their strength and they do operate in a certain way. The IPL mainly takes place during the summer in India and the slow/rough wickets back home is perfect for the SRH bowlers. Their bowling attack relies a lot on Rashid Khan and the seamers. Bowlers like Sid Kaul who rely a lot on cutters and slower ones are difficult to get away on wickets in India during the summer time. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sandeep Sharma give them the breakthrough with the new ball and the spinners led by Rashid Khan choke the opposition in the middle overs.

This has always been their plan in the IPL and they have been fairly successful in their strategy over the years. The big problem for SRH is the pitches in UAE at least at the start of the season. The wickets have been flat with true bounce and batters who can it big have ruled the roost. The fact that captain David Warner hasn’t hit the straps yet has caused SRH to struggle with the run rate. Bairstow has had one good innings but again once he got out like in the 2019 season the SRH batting crumbled.

SRH bowlers need to get back into the groove and quickly assess the conditions and length which will work on them for SRH to come back into the season. They also need to get Kane Williamson in to the XI at number 3. Manish Pandey will bat at number 4 followed by Mohammad Nabi or Vijay Shankar. Wriddhiman Saha in the middle order does not provide any value to SRH and they would benefit from someone who can go after the bowling in that position.

Losing Mitchell Marsh in the first game of the tournament is not the kind of start SRH would have hoped for but again they need to look past that. They have an okay squad and they need to make the most of it. Their bowling attack needs to adjust to the UAE wickets and provide their batter the backing they so wonderfully do back in India. Today’s game isn’t going to be easy as Delhi Capitals are one of the best teams of the tournament but again SRH will be hoping for the openers to get going to help the bowlers with a target they can defend.

SRH XI for tonight’s game:

Jonny Bairstow (Wk), David Warner (C), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Vijay Shankar, Priyam Garg, Rashid Khan, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma/Basil Thampi

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Afghanistan are the newbies of Test cricket. They were given Test status along with Ireland just over a year ago but the strides they have made so far has been amazing. They had a horror start against India who are the best side in the world but the team under Rashid Khan have showed that they are quick learners. They beat Ireland in their only second game and now they have taken a giant leap by beating Bangladesh away from home.

This is a huge achievement considering how difficult Bangladesh has been for touring sides over the years. Captain Rashid Khan led from the front with an amazing display of bowling taking 11 wickets in the game. The batting was held together by Asghar Afghan who scored fifties in both innings. The batters showed lots of application contrary to their display against India where they looked lost. The batting had purpose and on a wicket aiding spin they showed great skill and temperament.

The same cannot be said of the host batters. Bangladesh showed no application or patience on a wicket which required a loads of them. The Bangladesh batters seemed in a hurry against an attack which was tailor made for the condition on offer. The pitch was probably godsend for Afghanistan as they have world class spinners in their ranks. The visitors made full use of thr conditions and bowled Bangladesh out in the both the innings to seal a comfortable 224 run victory in the end.

The result looked little difficult to achieve, not because of the Bangladesh batters but because of the weather which almost threatened to wash out the final day but thankfully for Afghanistan they got enough overs to achieve another historic win. They have now 2 wins in 3 Tests which is a great achievement for a budding Test nation. They will for sure face tougher challenges in the future but again they have shown an ability to adapt and learn. This win also was a great send off for the iconic Mohammad Nabi who decided to hang his boots in this format.

For Bangladesh though this is a huge step down. They had a good hold on the home Tests for the last few years and by this defeat their vulnerability in familiar conditions showed as well. The strategy of going for a spin track with all spinners in their XI, fully knowing that the opposition has world class spinners was a poor one. Their batters who have lots of experience in this format once again showed lack of discipline and will to fight it out when things got tough. The Bangladesh camp will want to take a hard look at themselves as this is not the first time their batters have thrown it away when things aren’t going their way.

For Afghanistan though this is a huge boost and something which will help other teams take notice. They deserve to get many more chances and this team under Rashid Khan looks like they will learn and improve fast.

Scores:

Afghanistan 342 (Rahmat Shah 102, Taijul 4/116) & 260 (Ibrahim Zadran 87, Shakib 3/58) beat Bangladesh 205 (Mominul 52, Rashid Khan 5/55) & 173 (Shakib 44, Rashid Khan 6/49) by 224 runs

While they are not yet there in terms of constantly troubling the top teams, Afghanistan have gained respect in one-day cricketing circles with their enthusiasm and passion.

Afghanistan also have produced some good cricketers in the recent times, with the latest addition to that impressive list being Rashid Khan, a young leg spinner with immense talent.

In his short career, Khan has become an integral part of Afghanistan side with some mind-boggling numbers. While the top eight nations are battling for the Champions Trophy, Afghanistan are taking on the West Indies, and in the first ODI between the nations, Khan claimed 7/18 in a crushing win for his side.

The West Indies batsmen were clueless and struggled to pick his variation in an abject capitulation in the first ODI. Khan also bowled brilliantly in the second ODI, which his side lost, to pick up three more Windies wickets.

At just 18 years of age, Khan has played 28 ODI games, claiming 63 wickets, with an amazing average of 14.74. These numbers may be skewed due to lack of games with the top nations, but are still remarkable.

Khan is an extremely accurate spinner with a great googly to boot.

Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this season, Khan’s 17 wickets was second only to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for their club.

Afghanistan, as a cricketing nation, is still in its infancy, but having stars like Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi will surely help them to grow.

The series against West Indies might not get much media attention, but it’s an important series for Afghanistan, as they now stand a chance to actually win a series against a Test-playing nation.

Khan is one of the best leg spinners in world cricket at the moment, and he surely can become the best with more exposure and games against top cricketing nations.

What do other cricket fans think of this bowling? How good is he compared to other spinners around the world?

Link to my original article


My Thoughts

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