Rashid Khan’s grin said it all after he struck in the most irritating way possible for KL Rahul—almost as if he were apologising for how helpless the batter looked against him.
Rashid’s craft turns Rahul clueless in GT vs DC
Rashid may not be a traditional “big-turn” legspinner, but he is a modern T20 operator who can mix legbreaks with googlies and sliders, changing the angles and the tempo ball to ball. On Wednesday, representing Gujarat Titans against Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2026, he outfoxed Rahul with a legbreak that pitched around off stump and then rolled the ball across the width of the stumps.
In recent seasons, Rashid hasn’t always looked menacing, yet this match felt like a throwback. He produced figures of 3 for 17 in his four overs—his first three-wicket haul in the IPL since April 2023.
How the match swung after the first innings
Delhi Capitals had first set the tone. Lungi Ngidi finished with 1 for 24 from his four overs as GT posted 210 for 4, and it initially looked like his spell had done the decisive work. Then Rashid took over, and the contest tilted quickly in Gujarat’s favour.
With GT’s seamers not finding much, Shubman Gill brought Rashid on as early as the fifth over. The decision paid off immediately: Rashid delivered a tidy four-run over.
When Rashid returned for his second spell, DC had already sped to 71 without loss in seven overs. This time, he kept things even tighter, conceding only five runs in the over. His control—line, length, and pace—left Pathum Nissanka and Rahul with little margin to drive, cut, or pull.
From economy concerns to a sharp turnaround
Since the start of 2026, Rashid’s economy rate in T20 cricket has been 6.65. His last calendar-year stretch with a better economy came in 2022. Despite that, the “sting” many fans associate with him seemed to be missing—until Wednesday.
Key wicket and momentum through the middle overs
In the tenth over of the innings, Rashid set up Nitish Rana with a high-impact moment. Rana went for a reverse sweep, and at first glance it appeared Rashid had trapped him lbw. The on-field umpire raised the finger, but Rana used the DRS to overturn the decision after getting some bat on it.
On the next ball, Rashid bowled from well behind the popping crease. The delivery became a half-tracker, and Rana punished it by pulling over midwicket for a one-bounce four. Rashid responded immediately by correcting his length on the following ball, and when Rana tried to go big again, he miscued the shot towards mid-off. Sai Sudharsan sprinted in from long-off and completed the catch after sliding.
Googly strikes and another quick breakthrough
Sameer Rizvi walked in next as an Impact Player, but he barely got going. In his previous three IPL appearances (including the 2025 season), Rizvi had already collected three Player-of-the-Match awards. This time, Rashid made it count: he bowled a perfect googly that enticed Rizvi to drive, only for the batter to get beaten on the inside edge. The ball clipped the off stump.
Not long after, another googly did more damage. Axar Patel, along with Shivam Dube, has been India’s spin-hitting option in the last couple of years, but Rashid dismissed Axar in just three deliveries. Using a bowling angle around the wicket with a diagonal approach—something he rarely employs—Rashid forced a miscue that floated towards extra cover. Glenn Phillips moved back and took the catch over his shoulder.
Rahul’s fight, Rashid’s numbers, and the result
Rashid’s impact wasn’t limited to wickets. Before this match, Rahul had a strike rate of 103.75 against Rashid Khan in T20 cricket. Yet even with Delhi chasing 211, Rahul still chose the “play him out” approach—scoring only six runs off his nine balls.
- During Rahul’s 92 off 52 balls, Rashid was the only bowler against whom Rahul managed fewer than a run per ball.
- DC ultimately fell short by one run, handing Gujarat Titans their first win of the season.
Post-match comments: “Allrounder” banter and Test plans
After the match, Rashid was in a jovial mood during the presentation. When he was introduced as a Gujarat Titans bowler, he quickly corrected the phrasing, saying, “Allrounder, I think. Perhaps you have forgotten because I haven’t hit a six so far this IPL.”
When a question began with the words “last season”, Rashid cut in with a quick interruption: “Don’t remind me, yaar. It was too bad.”
He then looked back at the previous IPL, explaining that last time he took nine wickets across 15 games at an economy rate of 9.34—his worst IPL season on both counts. “I didn’t bowl that well last year,” he said. “But it’s not like if you have a bad season, you are gone, everything is exposed and people are playing you [easily]. It’s just about your line and length. I feel like that’s something I missed last year.
“This year I am just focusing on that and trying not to overthink. I feel I bowled well in the last two games as well, and I conceded runs only when I missed my length.”
Back surgery, red-ball limits, and India Test timing
Rashid also addressed the start of his struggles following back surgery after the 2023 ODI World Cup. He admitted he made a mistake by returning quickly and bowling a heavy workload in Test cricket. When asked about his plans, Rashid said he still wasn’t ready for the demands of red-ball cricket.
“I enjoy ODIs and I’m in good shape to play ODIs for a long period of time for Afghanistan. But I need to be careful with how many I play and not to put too much load on myself. But red-ball cricket is something that looks a bit difficult for me to keep playing. I can play one Test in a year but I don’t think I can play more than that.”
Asked whether he will feature in the upcoming Test against India in June, shortly after the IPL, Rashid replied, “I have already played one [against India] before, so I will just take it easy and get myself ready for the [2027 ODI] World Cup. Imagine something happens to my back in that Test match… And I can’t play 100 Test matches. If I am playing one Test in a year, I can’t play for 100 years. So there is no target in Test cricket.”
