NEW DELHI: Rashid Khan made a stunning return to Test cricket with a seven-wicket haul, earning the Man of the Match award as Afghanistan secured a 72-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second Test at the Queen Sports Club on Monday.
The 26-year-old, playing his first Test in three years, expressed confidence in his abilities despite his lengthy absence from red-ball cricket. Rashid finished the match with 11 wickets, including 7-66 in the second innings.
“After three years, back in Test cricket, it was hard for me to come back from back surgery and play the longest format. It is a team effort, the way they (the batters) delivered with the bat in the second innings—that got us back (in the game),” Rashid said after the win.
“I have not bowled much with the red ball, have not even touched it (in the last three years). Tried to have belief (in what I have been doing the last 10-12 years in international cricket). Does not matter if I am bowling quicker or slower, but more about the length I bowl—that is what creates problems. I try to adjust to the conditions as quickly as I can,” he added.
Rashid, who had not played a Test since March 2021, was sidelined from Afghanistan’s recent Test series due to injury. A subsequent back problem kept him out of red-ball cricket as advised by doctors, causing him to miss Afghanistan’s Test assignments against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Ireland.
Afghanistan sealed a 1-0 series victory over Zimbabwe after the first Test ended in a high-scoring draw. Key contributions came from Rahmat Shah, who was named Player of the Series, and debutant Ismat Alam, who scored a century in the second innings after being dismissed for a duck in the first.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi praised the trio for their standout performances. “Credit goes to the entire team, but especially to Rahmat, Ismat, and Rashid. First of all, I will talk about Rahmat. He has always shown his talent when the team needs him. One of the best innings he has played in front of me. He (Ismat) has scored a lot of runs in First-Class cricket. We played a lot of First-Class cricket this year, and that helped us to pick players and made him mature,” said Shahidi.
var _mfq = window._mfq || [];
_mfq.push([“setVariable”, “toi_titan”, window.location.href]);
!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) {
if (!isFBCampaignActive) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
if (f.fbq) return;
n = f.fbq = function() {
n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(…arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);
};
if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;
n.push = n;
n.loaded = !0;
n.version = ‘2.0’;
n.queue = [];
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’, n, t, s);
fbq(‘init’, ‘593671331875494’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
};
function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) {
if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) {
return;
}
var id = document.getElementById(‘toi-plus-google-campaign’);
if (id) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
t.id = ‘toi-plus-google-campaign’;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074’, n, t, s);
};
function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){
const section = window.location.pathname.split(‘/’)[1]
const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === ‘/’ && allowedSurvicateSections.includes(‘homepage’)
if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed){
(function(w) {
function setAttributes() {
var prime_user_status = window.isPrime ? ‘paid’ : ‘free’ ;
w._sva.setVisitorTraits({
toi_user_subscription_status : prime_user_status
});
}
if (w._sva && w._sva.setVisitorTraits) {
setAttributes();
} else {
w.addEventListener(“SurvicateReady”, setAttributes);
}
var s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.src=”https://survey.survicate.com/workspaces/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21/web_surveys.js”;
s.async = true;
var e = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];
e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e);
})(window);
}
}
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};
var TimesApps = window.TimesApps;
TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) {
var isConfigAvailable = “toiplus_site_settings” in f && “isFBCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings && “isGoogleCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings;
var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime;
var isPrimeUserLayout = window.isPrimeUserLayout;
if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) {
loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections);
} else {
var JarvisUrl=”https://jarvis.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published”;
window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){
if (config) {
const allowedSectionSuricate = (isPrimeUserLayout) ? config?.allowedSurvicatePrimeSections : config?.allowedSurvicateSections
loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(allowedSectionSuricate);
}
})
}
};
})(
window,
document,
‘script’,
);
Source link
