Asia Cup 2018: Rashid Khan dedicates his Man of the Match award to ACB's ex-chairman Atif Mashal

Afghanistan thumped rather annihilated Bangladesh by 136 runs in the final group game of the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Rashid Khan, the birthday boy, was the hero which was a no surprise to anyone. He was also awarded the Man of the Match for his all-round show in the middle. However, his gesture to dedicate the award to the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) ex-chairman Atif Mashal has won the heart of his fans.

The 20-year-old came in to bat with his side tottering at 160/7 in the 41st over. Many felt that it would be tough for Afghanistan to reach even 200 thanks to the slow batting from the top order. But Rashid had other ideas. He joined hands with the well-set Gulbadin Naib in the middle and tonked the ball to all the parts of the ground to notch up the 31-ball fifty.

His exploits helped his team to post a rather significant total of 255 runs on the board even as they added 97 runs in last 10 overs.

Rashid’s lovely gesture

He is a champion bowler and Rashid Khan proved his worth yet again. His mystery leg-spin was almost impossible to play for Bangladeshi batsmen as they succumbed to the pressure. He returned with the magical figures of 2/13 in his nine overs which buried all the hopes of the opposition to chase down the target. Amazing in the field, Rashid also affected a run-out to send back the debutant Abu Hider Rony with a direct hit off his own bowling.

When he was awarded he Man of the Match for the excellent show on his birthday, Rashid dedicated it to Atif Mashal who has worked so hard for the betterment of Afghanistan cricket during his tenure as the Chairman of the cricket board. “I want to dedicate this Man of the Match award to ex-chairman of Afghanistan cricket Atif Mashal, he has done a great job for Afghanistan cricket in the past few years,” he said during the post-match presentation.

The champion cricketer also tweeted about the same and hailed Mashal for his contribution to the country during his time at the helm.

Here’s Rashid’s tweet:

I dedicated my #AFGvBAN Man of the Match award to Ex Chairman @MashalAtif, who was a great mentor, chairman and a friend. His dedication to #Afghanistan Cricket is greatly appreciated. Thank you brother for being a great inspiration. pic.twitter.com/bT40nbGneW

— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) September 21, 2018

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