Good to win again at home, says Rashid

AHMEDABAD: After registering an emphatic 55-run victory over Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans leg-spinner Rashid Khan said that Tuesday’s Indian Premier League win was significant for the defending champion as it had lost its previous two matches at its home ground – the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Titans began IPL 2023 with a five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at home, but faced losses to Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on its backyard. “The feeling was good as we got the right start. Our boys took the responsibility and scored a good total (207) in the first innings. This victory was very significant as we lost the last two matches at home,” said Rashid in a video posted by the IPL.

“After we got partnerships with the bat, the way you (Mohammed Shami) started bowling when we had 207 runs to defend. The opposition just scored 24-25 runs (29) in six overs, the credit goes to you. The way you (Shami) and Hardik [Pandya] started, we got the momentum in the middle through the spinners,” Rashid told Shami.

Rashid took 2/27 and along with fellow Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad (3/37), dismantled Mumbai’s middle-order and restricted the visitor to 152/9.

“We (him and Noor) had to take advantage of the great start we had with the ball. With the fall of wickets in the powerplay, the required run-rate increased to almost 13-14 and let the batters make mistakes. The mindset was to not attack much, bowl in the right areas and force the batters to make a mistake,” said Rashid.