It is not often that Rashid Khan, the highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket, bowls just half of his quota of overs but that was the case on Saturday, March 29 as Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill with the quartet of pacers at his disposal, decided to bowl them out with the cutters and slower deliveries gripping in the surface. Gill admitted that the black soil surface was used specifically keeping Mumbai Indians in the mind and the home team utilised the home advantage to the fullest.
Asked if he remembered when was the last time when Rashid didn't finish his overs at the post-match presentation, Gill said, "I don't know. Maybe, this could be the first time he bowled just two overs in a T20 game." Not T20 cricket but yes, it was the first time in the IPL when Rashid didn't bowl his full quota of four overs in 20-over innings. There have been previous instances of Rashid not bowling four overs when the match finished early but when all 20 overs were bowled (by Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Gujarat Titans), this was the first time that the leggie didn't finish.
Instances of Rashid Khan not bowling full quota of overs in fully completed matches (no shortened games)
- 1/12 (2) vs DC (Ahmedabad, 2024) - DC chased down a 90-run target in 8.5 overs
- 0/25 (1.4) vs RCB (Bengaluru, 2024) - RCB chased a 148-run target down in 13.4 overs
Gill explained why the call was taken as he had to think on his feet, seeing how well Prasidh Krishna used his height and the hard length and utilised the assistance, walking away with the Player of the Match, bowling 15 dots.
"I actually kept his [Rashid] overs to bowl in the end but with the way the fast bowlers were bowling, I just didn't want the game to get loosened up in the middle. So, I just thought fast bowlers are bowling well. Prasidh bowled beautifully in the middle so, I thought why not let him finish his [quota], take the game as deep as possible and let him finish his overs." Gill added.
Sai Sudharsan top-scored for the Titans with a 41-ball 63 while Jos Buttler and Gill made crucial contributions. Suryakumar Yadav played a good hand of 48 off just 28 balls but got very little support as the required run rate kept rising and eventually the visitors fell short by 36 runs.