Afghanistan spinner and captain, Rashid Khan, made a record for the most four-wicket hauls delivered by any player in Men’s T20 Internationals. This feat came in an exciting eight-run victory over Bangladesh in their Super Eights match at the Arnos Vale Ground during T20 World Cup 2024.
Only 25, Rashid Khan now has nine four-wicket hauls in T20Is to his credit, more than Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who has eight, and Ugandan Henry Ssenyondo, who has seven.
The leg-spinner came out with a fine spell of four wickets for 23 runs off his quota of four overs at an economy rate of 5.80. He took the vital wickets of Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, and Rishad Hossain while seriously denting the batting lineup of Bangladesh.
The Afghanistan team won the toss and opted to bat. It was an essential innings by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored big to take Afghanistan up to 115-5. Contributions from Ibrahim Zadran and Rashid Khan later in the innings added some vital runs to the scoreboard.
Rishad Hossain led the Bangladesh bowling attack, returning with figures of 3 for 26 in his four overs of bowling, which kept the Afghanistan total within chasing range.
However, rain intervened in the second innings and reduced the game to 19 overs, which means Bangladesh needed another 114 runs. Litton Das showed the way with the bat for Bangladesh as he turned out to be his team’s highest scorer. His efforts aside, the remaining batting failed to counter the smart Afghan bowling.
Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan were at their best, with both pacers picking four wickets each in their respective spells. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib contributed with a wicket each to see Afghanistan home by eight runs.
Not only was that win a display of Rashid Khan’s brilliance, but also it knocked out Mitchell Marsh-led Australia from the tournament. Australia ended their Super Eights, Group 1 campaign with just two points and ended up at the third position in the group to get eliminated.
This record-breaking feat by Rashid Khan comes as a huge highlight for the tournament. He has remained an inspiration to young cricketers through his performance and has genuinely proved his worth for the Afghan cricket team.
