IPL 2018: Yusuf Pathan not surprised by Rashid Khan’s batting prowess

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 14 runs in the Qualifier 2 of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL). With the thumping victory courtesy of Rashid Khan, they also registered themselves as the second finalist of the tournament and will face the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 27.

Kane Williamson’s men stuttered and found themselves in a precarious position while batting. They lost wickets at regular intervals and were in danger of posting a below-par score for Kolkata to chase down. After 18.1 overs, they were staring down the barrel with the score reading 138/7. However, Rashid wasn’t ready to drop the gun and he took the bowlers by the scruff of their necks.

Rashid- The game changer

The 19-year old Young Turk whacked 34* runs from 10 balls and propelled SRH’s score to 174 in 20 overs. The teenager laid into Prasidh Krishna and plundered 24 runs from his final over. During his cameo, he smashed four sixes and a couple of boundaries as well. Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan, SRH’s middle order batsman, heaped praises on Rashid and mentioned to be aware of his abilities with the willow.

“He is a good cricketer and in Big Bash and other overseas tournaments, he has batted well, hit fours and sixes. He has the ability to bat and that is why he bats at number 8. Against Chennai (Super Kings) also he hit a couple of sixes. So we don’t doubt his ability and were not surprised,” Yusuf was quoted as saying by The Times of India (TOI).

The Afghan prodigy was also phenomenal with the leather. He churned out a spell of 4-0-19-3, which broke the backbone of KKR’s batting line up. He picked up the prized scalps of Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Andre Russell to take SRH into a position of ascendancy from where they didn’t look back. Moreover, he also grasped two catches and effected the run out of Nitish Rana.

“He batted and bowled really well, and when the team needed that he delivered. He deserves credit for performing consistently well throughout the season. We have seen him bowl well but today we saw him bat well too. The team benefited from that and we reached the final,” the Baroda all-rounder added.

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