SRH vs KXIP: Historic day for Afghanistan as Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi bowl in tandem in IPL 2017
Rashid Khan picked up two wickets for SRH against KXIP. (Source: BCCI/IPL) Rashid Khan picked up two wickets for SRH against KXIP. (Source: BCCI/IPL)
It would have been festival time in Afghanistan when two of their players Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan were picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL 2017 auctions. While Nabi had to settle for Rs 30 lakh, Rashid had a triggered a bidding war and the leggie went to the IPL 2016 champs for Rs 4 crore. Rashid played for the team right from the first game and didn’t disappoint with his brilliant performances with the ball. He kept picking wickets in the very first overs of his spell and became a household name in no time. (Results | Fixtures | Points Table)
Nabi, however, had to wait for his turn. The all-rounder didn’t play the first four games and was only included in the team’s fifth outing this year, against the Kings XI Punjab on Monday. With the bat, there wasn’t much to cheer about as he was dismissed for only two but Rashid gave SRH a strong finish with a six off the last ball. Defending the modest 160-run target, onus was on SRH bowlers and the Afghan duo played their part in the thrilling win. The day belonged to purple cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar but the spin-twins chipped in with three crucial wickets.
Introduced inside the batting powerplay, Nabi didn’t have a good start as he conceded a six off the first ball. After going for ten in the over, he was off the attack and was introduced once the restrictions were off. Morgan hit the offie for a big six in his first over but Nabi had the last laugh as he cleaned up the left-hander with first ball of his second over. Rashid was all smiles and ran in to congratulate him for the early success. For Rashid too it was a rare bad start as he went for plenty – 16 – in his first. But like Nabi he returned strong to pick the wickets of David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha in the same over.
It’s definitely not the end and the two are expected to play more, together, for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League.
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