MATCH STORIES
Follow UsConfidence. Mindset. Experience. Belief.
In an interview with ESPNCricinfo earlier in the year, Adil Rashid used four words to describe England’s chances of defending their T20 World Cup title. Read those four words again.
Don’t they also define Rashid?
He’s quite confident with his trade, he has the attacking mindset that fetches you wickets, he has the experience of defending his badge, and, more importantly, he has the belief to boss the middle overs.
These are some of the novel qualities that make Rashid stand out from the competition. He has always gone under the radar, but time and again, he has come up with the goods for England. Sometimes, in occasions bigger than one could fathom.
At 72/0, Rashid was in a similar territory. England were already overawed by the occasion, and it was evident in their bowling display during the powerplay. But Jos Buttler knew that 'where there is Rashid, there is always a way.'
The Daren Sammy National Stadium in St Lucia is statistically one of the best batting tracks at the T20 World Cup 2024, with a run rate of nine, the highest at a venue. The factor of wind also makes it much tougher for a spinner.
But Rashid isn’t your average spinner. He practises one of the toughest trades in world cricket, but you wouldn’t put him in the same basket as some of the other leg spinners in world cricket.
Being a leg spinner often comes with an asterisk, the element of not having control. With Rashid, control often comes hand-in-hand with him, and that’s what Buttler was also kind of hoping, that the leg spinner would control the middle over phase.
Remember, the 36-year-old was tasked with bowling to a destructive Johnson Charles and an in-form Nicholas Pooran. Pooran’s name itself is usually enough to send shivers down the spine of many leg spinners but this, here, was 'The Adil Rashid'.
Considering the conditions, he was quite brave up front, looping the ball against Charles. Up against Pooran, he switched his plans instantaneously, throwing up a googly. It is these small things that often go unnoticed: the bravado, the street smarts, and complete control over the skillset. His control was such that he only gave away three runs in his opening over.
It was evident what Rashid was doing, bowling it outside the right-hander’s reach. But the wind was such that even the slightest connection would carry the ball miles outside the ground. That’s exactly what happened when Charles got under one of those wide deliveries to pump it down the ground.
That’s when Rashid’s belief came into the picture. He trusted his plans.
Due to conceding 12 runs off his second over, his figures slightly took a hit. But the moment Charles was out, and there was Rovman Powell, the leg spinner sniffed a chance. With the wind flowing in the opposite direction, his loopy deliveries meant that Powell had to beat two things: the guile of Rashid and the force of nature.
Even before West Indies realised, Rashid was done and dusted with three overs, conceding just 19 runs off his three overs. Would this have been done by any and every leg-spinner? Buttler first thought was the same, and that’s why he introduced Liam Livingstone into the attack from the same end.
But five deliveries into Livingstone’s only over, Buttler realised the might of Rashid. The part-time leg spinner went 2, 6, 6, 0 and 6. Powell was in a mood to punish, and Livingstone bore the brunt, making it clear as daylight that Rashid is made of different gravy.
Rashid emphasised the same in his final over when he removed a dangerous Andre Russell, who was tempted by a wide delivery, and had to hit against the wind. All he could do was hit it straight to the hands of Phil Salt.
Four overs, 21 runs, one wicket, which was that of Andre Russell.
Remember the four words? Confidence. Mindset. Experience. Belief.
Now, does all of it make sense? These are the four words that best describe and define Rashid. There’s a reason that he has 116 T20I wickets. And this is why Buttler trusts him more than anyone.
If England want to become the first team to defend that title, and break that wretched jinx, they will need Rashid more than anyone else.
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