Former India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla praised Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan for the accuracy and craft he showed in IPL 2026, after Rashid returned figures of 3 for 17 in Gujarat Titans’ one-run victory over Delhi Capitals. Chawla also highlighted that Rashid’s dismissal of Sameer Rizvi stood out among a sequence of breakthroughs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where Delhi were chasing 211.
Rashid’s spell turns the chase
- Rashid Khan struck early in Delhi’s chase by removing Sameer Rizvi, putting pressure on the Capitals’ plan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
- He then continued to trouble the middle order, dismissing Nitish Rana and Axar Patel to further tighten the contest as Delhi searched for runs.
- Despite Rashid’s control, Delhi stayed alive in the pursuit, thanks in part to a late surge from David Miller.
- Miller counter-attacked for Gujarat even while dealing with an injured left hand, smashing an unbeaten 41 to keep the Titans’ defence within reach.
- In the final over, Prasidh Krishna held his nerve and defended 13 runs, including hitting the right lengths with two runs still required from the last two balls, sealing a nail-biting one-run win for Gujarat.
Chawla underlined that Rashid can trouble any side when he finds his rhythm, and said Gujarat specifically needed him to deliver while defending a challenging total on a ground he described as favourable for batting. He stressed that Rashid’s impact was evident from the very start of his spell, when he was “right on the money” from the first delivery.
Speaking about the wicket of Sameer Rizvi, Chawla pointed to the way Rashid varied his approach. He noted that Rashid bowled multiple leg-spinners earlier, and when Rizvi came in with strong numbers against spin for the season, Rashid made him feel the ball was going down the leg-break line. Chawla said the bowler then fooled him with the wrong-un—delivering an accurate ball that slipped past the bat through the gap.
Chawla also credited KL Rahul’s batting for keeping Delhi in the hunt. Rahul made a commanding 92, and Chawla felt those runs mattered at a stage when Delhi needed to ensure the required run-rate never fell fully out of reach. He added that Rahul appeared to begin calmly—around 26 coming from his first 20 deliveries—before accelerating, and suggested that after an innings like that, he would likely be disappointed not to have finished the chase for his team.
