Watch Rashid Khan’s devastating spell of 7 wickets against West Indies in 1st ODI

June 9, 2017: Mark this date. Not for Bangladesh’s emphatic victory against New Zealand in the eighth edition of Champions Trophy, but for Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan’s magical spell which bamboozled the Caribbean side and tore them apart in the first ODI of the series. After being whitewashed in the 3-match T20I series, Afghanistan emerged strongly against the West Indies team in the 1st ODI, defeating them by a healthy margin of 63 runs. Defending only 212 runs, Rashid trapped seven Caribbean batsmen with his spin web which was majorly filled with his  wrong’un.

It was clear that the pitch was favouring spinners and Rashid just exploited the advantage. West Indies were cautious at the start of their chase as they were 68 for 2 till 22 overs before Rashid was introduced by Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai. Coming in to bowl in the 23rd over of the chase, Rashid struck off the first ball of his spell by picking up the wicket of Jason Mohammed with a straighter delivery. Jason edged and the experienced Afghan cricketer Mohammad Nabi at slip made no mistake in grabbing the leather. Although, Nabi fumbled but ensured the catch was taken safely.

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After the departure of Jason, West Indies’ newly emerged hero in Test cricket — Roston Chase came out to bat and once again he was expected to bail out his side from the difficult situation on his ODI debut. But it was Rashid who was chasing for Chase’s wicket and trapped him lbw with a wrong’un, that brought the Afghan spinner on hat-trick, which was eventually averted by Jonathan Carter on the next ball. However, on his debut, Chase was dismissed for golden duck, which made him the first debutant to achieve such feat against Afghanistan, 5th from West Indies against any side and 49th overall. Rashid ended his first over with two big wickets and only one run from it.

In his next over, Rashid scalped another wicket in the form of Shai Hope off the 3rd delivery of the over. It was a straighter delivery outside off which Hope might have not hoped for and edged. Nabi at slip plucked a stunner by diving to his wrong side. Now, half of the Caribbean side were back in pavilion and then came their captain Jason Holder. Rashid did the same what he did in his previous over by bowling a wrong’un after a straight one. Holder came forward to defend it but the ball bisected from the gap between his pad and bat and cleaned up his stumps. Once again, Rashid was on hat-trick and had almost got it but umpire C Shamshuddin turned down. Nurse went for a slog sweep on his first ball and was struck on the back pad.

Rashid’s next over went wicket-less, followed by his 5th wicket in the final ball of the 29th over. Another wrong’un earned Rashid his 2nd five-wicket haul in ODIs. This time it was Nurse, who got trapped in front of the stumps with his googly. West Indies were now 90 for 7 from 29 overs and from there on, a decent partnership of 45 runs between Alzarri Joseph and Jonathan Carter brought the hope back in their side. During that partnership, Rashid had bowled two wicket-less overs and it was finally broken by pacer Dawlat Zadran in the 40th over. With that breakthrough, Rashid was brought back into the attack but did not get any wicket in the 41st over.

The Afghan leggie continued and this time, he scalped Joseph lbw with another wrong’un. Rashid then cleaned up Miguel Cummins with an excellent flipper.

It was the 7th wicket of his spell, conceding only 18 runs with a maiden from 8.4 overs. This is now the best bowling figures in ODIs by an Associate player and 4th best overall after Chaminda Vaas (8 for 19 vs ZIM in 2001), Shahid Afridi (7 for 12 vs WI in 2013) and Glenn McGrath (7 for 15 vs NAM in 2003). Rashid also became the youngest to take a 7-wicket haul in ODIs and 2nd youngest across formats after Enamul Haque jnr (7 for 95 vs ZIM in Test in 2005).

It was not just a win for Afghanistan but was a big confidence booster for them which was much needed for them after their whitewash in T20I series. Rashid was adjudged Man of the Match award for the 4th time in limited-overs format, which is the 2nd-most for a teenaged cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar (6). Moreover, his bowling average of 15.05 is the best by any bowler in ODIs with 1000-ball cut-off.

Post victory, emotional Rashid dedicated his award to the victims of the Kabul attack and said, “We really needed this after losing three consecutive T20Is. To perform on this big stage means a lot to me. The wicket wasn’t great to score quickly. We bowled according to the plan and conditions. That made the difference. I want to dedicate this Man of the Match award to victims of the Kabul attacks. We’re trying our best to bring back smiles and happiness and whatever way we can. Please keep all of us in your prayers.”

His brilliant performance made his Sunrisers Hyderbad (SRH) coach praise him on Twitter, followed by Aakash Chopra doing the same as well.

Thrilled to see @rashidkhan_19 dominate in the Caribbean, wonderful talent! #AFGvsWI #ODI 7/18

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) June 10, 2017

His name is Khan…Rashid Khan. Seven wicket haul (7/18) to down West Indies. Ek aur padosi form mein

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) June 10, 2017

The Afghan team will now be eager to clinch the ODI series against the Caribbean side by claiming the second ODI, which will be played on Sunday at the same venue  followed by the final clash on Wednesday.