In a pulsating turn of events in the Major League Cricket 2024 Eliminator match, MI New York’s Rashid Khan emerged with all guns blazing when it mattered most. This important contribution from Rashid came in the form of 55 off 30 balls against the Texas Super Kings at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, the very vital innings. His performance at the end of their allotted 20 overs helped his team post a total of 163-8. This inning was one of its kind amidst all the pressure of the eliminator clash.
Rashid Khan Puts Forward Impactful Batting
Afghan all-rounder Rashid Khan walked out as the number five batsman in the 11th over, right after Shayan Jahangir’s fall. His entry was greeted with a lot of aggression, as he took on the Texas Super Kings’ bowlers with great vigor. The early boundaries off Rashid against Dwayne Bravo set the tone for his innings, and he carried on the attack against Noor Ahmed with a few boundaries.
His innings were there, and at the time of the death overs, they gathered quick momentum. Rashid joined with his explosive batting by smashing successive sixes off Aaron Hardie and then covering on more boundaries off Noor Ahmed’s bowling to reach fifty. This was Rashid’s fourth fifty in T20 cricket. The path looked comfortable enough in the shortest format of the game.
Even though Rashid Khan batted brilliantly, the situation was tough for MI New York owing to the rain at the innings break, which made things dicey. The Kieron Pollard-led team could not contain the strong opening partnership that Faf du Plessis and Devon Conway put on, which proved to be the big stumbling block for the defending side. The rain delay was an added headache for the already stumbling MI New York, who were putting less pressure on the Texas Super Kings batting lineup.
Rashid Khan with the Ball
Rashid Khan didn’t just contribute to his team with his bat. He had an important role to play with the ball in the second innings as well. The leg-spinner was introduced into the attack in the fourth over, where he turned out to be at his skillful best, conceding only four runs. All through his three-over spell, Rashid continued to squeeze the batsmen, giving away just 15 runs. That tight and disciplined bowling reflected how he can bowl according to the phases of the game, even when MI New York was struggling to contain the batsmen.
As the game progressed, the Texas Super Kings were cruising toward the target that MI New York had set. In doing so, the partnership between Faf du Plessis and Devon Conway was very instrumental. Once more, it was Faf du Plessis who turned out to be their match-winner with the bat; he added another fifty to what has been a long list of his tally during the tournament, further cementing his team’s position. Thanks to the solid batting performance by the Texas Super Kings, they could see the chase out in 18.3 overs, thus winning by 9 wickets. All of Rashid Khan’s good work could not win this high-stakes game for MI New York.
This was the match that proved both Rashid Khan as a batsman and as a bowler, even though the conditions were tough and the eventual outcome went to MI New York. It was one of the very defining moments in this MLC 2024 Eliminator clash and added some excitement to this ongoing tournament.
