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BBL 2017-18: Rashid Khan bags Man of the Match award on debut
Adelaide Strikers thrashed Sydney Thunder with a 53-run win, courtesy Rashid’s 2 for 22 from his 4 overs.
Published: Dec 23, 2017, 11:03 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 23, 2017, 10:58 AM (IST)
Rashid Khan continues to turn his dreams into reality. This time he starred on his debut for Adelaide Strikers at 2017-18 BBL. On Friday night, Strikers thrashed Sydney Thunder with a 53-run win, courtesy Rashid’s 2 for 22 from his 4 overs. The first Afghanistan player in BBL bagged the Man of the Match award for the same. His canny spin helped unravel the Thunder. He had Ryan Gibson caught behind followed by a sensational wrong un’ to dismiss Ben Rohrer.
Rashid was elated to receive the award from legendary cricketers like Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh and Damien Fleming, who are commentating for the tournament.
It was wonderful feeling among the legends and my all time favourite wkt keeper batsman @gilly381@juniorwaugh349 @bowlologist pic.twitter.com/FbCp8lqD6r
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) December 22, 2017
In a quick chat with them, Rashid firstly expressed gratitude on receiving the award, “It means a lot to Afghanistan to play in such a big league. And to then to perform and get player of the match – it was a dream to play in this league, so it’s a proud moment for my country, for me, for my family. To play here, it’s such an amazing moment,” as quoted by cricket.com.au.
The wicket of Rohrer was special for Rashid, “That was a special wicket, a left-hander, to bowl him with a googly. I set him up for it. He was waiting for a leg-spinner. I think the speed I bowl makes it difficult for the batsman.”
Rashid also took a sly dig on the opponents. Rashid believes that watching his wrong un’ videos several times would not help the batsmen to overcome them, “You can see in the video, but once you come to the centre it’s looking everything different.”
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At the end, he thanked his teammates and skipper Travis Head who backed him to demonstrate his variations, “I wasn’t nervous, I just tried my best to bowl on a good length area. And the players were backing me and the skipper (Travis Head) just told me ‘you can do it, just go and believe in yourself’.”