Xplorich
Rashid Khan endured one of the toughest nights of his celebrated T20 career as Rajasthan Royals tore apart the Gujarat Titans spinner in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 on Friday. The Afghanistan superstar finished with figures of 2 overs for 45 runs, registering the worst economy rate of his entire T20 career in matches where he has bowled a minimum of two overs. Across 524 T20 innings before this game, Rashid had never gone at 22.5 runs per over. His previous worst economy in such an outing had come against Lucknow Super Giants in Ahmedabad during IPL 2025, when he conceded 36 runs in two overs at an economy of 18. The nightmare outing became even more painful in the final over of the Rajasthan innings when Donovan Ferreira launched a brutal assault on Rashid. The South African batter smashed four sixes in the over as Rajasthan plundered 27 runs off the final six balls. That over also equalled the record for the most expensive over bowled by a spinner in IPL playoff history. The unwanted record was previously held by Ravi Bishnoi, whose over went for 27 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2022 Eliminator in Kolkata. Rashid’s difficult night came during a sensational batting display from Rajasthan Royals, led once again by teenage superstar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old produced a stunning 96 off just 47 deliveries in front of a packed crowd that had largely turned up to witness his latest masterclass. Rajasthan’s innings had started disastrously after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel were both dismissed inside the first two overs by Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada. On a used surface that had already hosted the Eliminator, Gujarat’s pacers targeted Sooryavanshi with short-pitched bowling and hard lengths into the body. Even then, the teenager continued to dominate some of the world’s best bowlers. One of the standout moments of the innings came when he launched Rabada’s 153 kmph delivery straight down the ground for six. Ravindra Jadeja, promoted to No. 4, also played a vital supporting role with an unbeaten 45 off 35 balls despite struggling with a tennis elbow injury. After briefly retiring hurt, Jadeja returned later in the innings to support Ferreira during the death overs. Gujarat Titans still looked on course to restrict Rajasthan below 200 until the final over completely changed the momentum of the match. Ferreira’s breathtaking assault on Rashid transformed a strong total into a potentially match-winning one as Rajasthan finished with 214 for 6. For Rashid Khan, it became a rare night where one of T20 cricket’s greatest bowlers found himself on the wrong side of IPL history.
