On Friday, Rashid Khan of Gujarat Titans achieved a remarkable feat by scoring an unbeaten 79 runs off 32 balls. This is the highest score ever recorded by a No. 8 batter in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL).

Upon winning the toss, Gujarat Titans elected to field first, requesting Mumbai Indians to bat. As per The Hindu, Mumbai achieved a formidable total of 218 for five in the initial innings, courtesy of Suryakumar Yadav’s first-ever IPL century.

Early breakthroughs were made by Mumbai’s Akash Madhwal, who dismissed Wriddhiman Saha in the second over, proving to be a valuable player for his team. Breakthroughs were found by Rohit Sharma’s bowlers at regular intervals, causing Titans to be left reeling at 100 for seven.

Rashid’s impressive performance, consisting of three fours and 10 sixes, prevented a potentially harmful defeat for Gujarat and instead resulted in a narrow escape.

The score achieved by Rashid surpassed that of Pat Cummins, who had batted at No. 8 for Kolkata Knight Riders against Chennai Super Kings in an IPL 2021 match at the same location.

In the initial innings, Rashid secured four wickets, thereby surpassing Yuzvendra Chahal of Rajasthan Royals in the current season’s Purple Cap rankings. Rashid’s wicket count is 23.

Parthiv Patel praised Rashid’s performance as the most impressive innings by a lower-middle-order batsman in recent times. He also noted that Rashid’s efforts prevented MI from securing a significant victory in IPL 2023. 

Rashid Khan has referred to his performance against the Mumbai Indians as his most unforgettable innings.

Parthiv Patel speaks about Rashid Khan

“Rashid Khan, the bowler, and Rashid Khan, the batter, both turned up. It was an outstanding knock. I think the game was almost done. But he had other plans. The Mumbai Indians wanted a big win but they had Rashid in the way. To me, it’s the best innings that a lower middle-order batter has played in a long, long time. The kind of six-hitting we saw was unbelievable,” Parthiv said while speaking on JioCinema.

MI VS GT: MATCH OVERVIEW 

The chase was initiated by Mumbai Indians with Jason Behrendorff delivering a neat over right from the start. The first wicket of the match was secured by Akash Madhwal. Wriddhiman Saha’s pads were struck by the ball, resulting in the umpire’s surprising decision to dismiss him. The batter who was also keeping wickets opted for a review, and upon review, it was observed that the ball had made minimal contact with the stumps. Saha was compelled to return to the pavilion as per the umpire’s decision.

The innings commenced with a successful boundary hit by GT skipper Hardik Pandya on the first delivery. The duration of his presence was brief, as Behrendorff executed a superb delivery resulting in an edge, which was then successfully caught by Ishan Kishan. Pandya’s innings came to an end with a score of 4 runs off 3 deliveries as he made his way back to the pavilion.

Shubman Gill was the centre of attention as his performance had the potential to be a crucial turning point in the match. Akash prevented this possibility from materialising. The subject successfully penetrated Gill’s defence, resulting in the ball colliding directly with the stumps. The player Gill concluded his innings with a score of 6 runs out of 9 balls faced.

Vijay Shankar and David Miller exhibited resilience, albeit momentarily, as MI appeared to be on the verge of securing another dismissal. Rohit deployed Piyush Chawla for the purpose of securing a breakthrough, and the experienced Indian spinner fulfilled his role effectively. Shankar (29) was dismissed as the bails were sent flying into the air.

The qualification prospects of GT were significantly hindered as Kumar Kartikeya dismissed their emerging talent Abhinav Manohar for a score of 2(3).

The final stand for the visitors was taken by David Miller and Rahul Tewatia, the two batters. The scoreboard was successfully kept in motion.

The partnership between the two individuals was disrupted due to the pressure of maintaining a consistent boundary score. David Miller was subsequently caught in front of the stumps by Akash.

On the subsequent delivery of Chawla’s over, Rahul Tewatia was dismissed while attempting to hit the ball over the boundary. The projectile was successfully intercepted by Camron Green’s grasp.

Rashid Khan exhibited his prowess by effortlessly hitting sixes with an inside-out shot and a reverse helicopter. The individual’s unbeaten knock of 79 runs off 32 deliveries played a crucial role in keeping GT in the chase. The outcome of the game resulted in MI emerging victorious with a lead of 27 runs.

The innings of GT was concluded with a score of 191/8.

Mumbai was assigned to bat first and their openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma exhibited an impressive start by hitting boundaries frequently. Rohit demonstrated excellent form by hitting Mohit Sharma for 14 runs, including two impressive fours and one powerful six.

During the fifth over, the team’s total surpassed the 50-run mark due to the impressive performance of the duo.

GT’s chances were revived by Rashid Khan’s exceptional performance as he eliminated both Rohit and Kishan in a solitary over. Rohit’s innings concluded with a score of 29, while Kishan’s performance yielded 31 runs in 20 deliveries.

The strike was deftly rotated by Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav, preventing the Gujarat bowlers from finding their footing and capitalising on the loose deliveries. In the 9th over of the game, the Afghanistan spinner successfully claimed the wicket of Nehal Wadhera.

Vishnu Vinod proceeded to take the pitch for batting. Suryakumar exhibited an aggressive approach in the batting partnership, frequently hitting boundaries.

In the 12th over of the game, Alzarri Joseph was hit for 15 runs by the duo of Vinod and Suryakumar, who managed to score two sixes.

The Mumbai pair swiftly gained control over the Gujarat bowlers and proceeded to strike the ball with great force in all directions. The duo exhibited remarkable perseverance and resolve while establishing their 50-run alliance.

Mohit Sharma successfully provided a crucial breakthrough to his team by dismissing the well-established batsman Vinod, thus ending the 65-run partnership between the MI batters.

Suryakumar achieved his fifty in 32 deliveries during the 17th over. The fourth wicket of the match was taken by Rashid Khan, who dismissed Tim David for 5 runs.

Suryakumar hit Mohit Sharma for three boundaries and one maximum in an over, scoring a total of 20 runs.

During the 19th over of the match, Suryakumar effectively struck two boundaries and one maximum off Mohammed Shami’s deliveries, accumulating a total of 17 runs.

At the culmination of the last over, Suryakumar achieved a century by hitting an impressive six, thereby elevating his team’s total to 218/5.