Rashid Khan\u2019s grin said it all after he struck in the most irritating way possible for KL Rahul\u2014almost as if he were apologising for how helpless the batter looked against him.<\/p>\n
Rashid may not be a traditional \u201cbig-turn\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
In recent seasons, Rashid hasn\u2019t always looked menacing, yet this match felt like a throwback. He produced figures of 3 for 17 in his four overs\u2014his first three-wicket haul in the IPL since April 2023.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n
With GT\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2014line, length, and pace\u2014left Pathum Nissanka and Rahul with little margin to drive, cut, or pull.<\/p>\n
Since the start of 2026, Rashid\u2019s economy rate in T20 cricket has been 6.65. His last calendar-year stretch with a better economy came in 2022. Despite that, the \u201csting\u201d many fans associate with him seemed to be missing\u2014until Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Not long after, another googly did more damage. Axar Patel, along with Shivam Dube, has been India\u2019s 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\u2014something he rarely employs\u2014Rashid forced a miscue that floated towards extra cover. Glenn Phillips moved back and took the catch over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
Rashid\u2019s impact wasn\u2019t 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 \u201cplay him out\u201d approach\u2014scoring only six runs off his nine balls.<\/p>\n
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, \u201cAllrounder, I think. Perhaps you have forgotten because I haven\u2019t hit a six so far this IPL.\u201d<\/p>\n
When a question began with the words \u201clast season\u201d, Rashid cut in with a quick interruption: \u201cDon\u2019t remind me, yaar<\/i>. It was too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2014his worst IPL season on both counts. \u201cI didn\u2019t bowl that well last year,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not like if you have a bad season, you are gone, everything is exposed and people are playing you [easily]. It\u2019s just about your line and length. I feel like that\u2019s something I missed last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019t ready for the demands of red-ball cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy ODIs and I\u2019m 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\u2019t think I can play more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether he will feature in the upcoming Test against India in June, shortly after the IPL, Rashid replied, \u201cI 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\u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rashid Khan\u2019s grin said it all after he struck in the most irritating way possible for KL Rahul\u2014almost as if he were apologising for how…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"GT vs DC: Rashid Khan KOs KL Rahul Again in IPL","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rashid Khan again outfoxes KL Rahul as Gujarat Titans trouble Delhi Capitals\u2014watch the magic, wickets, and key moments from GT vs DC in IPL.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n