During a Super Eights match in the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Arnos Vale Ground, Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan got his name written into the T20I record books after his team secured an eight-run nail-biting victory over Bangladesh.
The leg-spinner became known as Men’s T20I history’s bowler with the most four-wicket hauls, reasserting himself as one of formats’ most impactful players.
Khan broke the record when he recorded 4/23 with his allotted four overs bowling, which included a very impressive economy rate of 5.80; thereby roping in key Bangladeshi batsmen Towhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah and Rishad Hossain and eliminating any chance of Bangladesh winning.
This feat took him to nine four-wicket hauls in T20Is thus surpassing Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (8) and Uganda’s Henry Ssenyondo (7) who hold the second and third spots on this list respectively.
Rain-affected affair low-scoring tense game. Electing to bat first upon winning the toss, Afghanistan posted a competitive score of 115-5 for their full quota of overs.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was steady in his innings as he scored 43 off 55 balls. While valuable cameos from Ibrahim Zadran (18) and Rashid Khan himself (19 not out) were commendable efforts. Rishad Hossain led with figures of 3/26 as he starred for Bangladesh with the ball.
Due to rain during break between innings, Bangladesh needed to chase down just 114 runs off 19 overs. Despite Litton Das’ best efforts who made an unbeaten half-century—54 runs—Bangladesh fell short by a whisker. Naveen-ul-Haq also took four wickets where Rashid Khan left off, while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib contributed with a wicket each to give Afghanistan an unforgettable win.
This result had implications for Australia’s hopes in the tournament too as the Mitchell Marsh-led side were bundled out of the tournament. Despite earlier victories against Bangladesh finishing at number 3 with only two points in Group 1 of the Super Eights stages.
This rain-affected contest was clinched by Rashid Khan’s record-breaking performance and Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling.
