Rashid Khan Magic Spell: past two IPL Since the beginning of the season, Rashid Khan no longer looked like the bowler who could completely change the course of the match with his powerful bowling. This decline started becoming visible in his figures only when it became a topic of discussion around him. In IPL 2024, he took 10 wickets in 12 matches and for the first time in any season of IPL, he could not take three wickets even once.

This decline was even greater in IPL 2025. He took 9 wickets in 15 matches in IPL 2025. That too with an average of 57.11 and economy of 9.34.

For a bowler who has made his mark on demolishing the opposition in the middle overs and making chases difficult, these were not just poor results. These were indications that the match was no longer going according to his wish.

Defeated Delhi Capitals by one run

This is why Gujarat Titans’ one-run win against Delhi Capitals felt bigger than a typical result at the beginning of the season.

Gujarat Titans were defending 210 runs, Delhi were unbeaten before coming into this match and there were many moments during the chase when it seemed that this victory would be easy for Delhi. Instead, Rashid bowled the way he was known for: 4 overs, 17 runs, 3 wickets, and conceded just one boundary. This performance was not spectacular just because of the statistics. It was brilliant because these wickets came at such a time, which changed the entire equation of the chase.

Rashid dismissed Sameer Rizvi for zero.

The story of Delhi’s batting this season was already clear. The top order had not always had good starts, but Sameer Rizvi had become their troubleshooter. Delhi’s score against Lucknow Super Giants was 4 for 26 when Rizvi’s unbeaten 70 bailed them out. Against Mumbai Indians, he scored 90 runs in 51 balls and turned the chase decisively in Delhi’s favor. But in today’s match, Sameer Rizvi’s bat did not work and he was out for zero. He was dismissed by none other than Rashid Khan.

Rashid’s magic spell

Rashid Khan took 3 wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs. Which was a much better performance than the last two seasons of IPL. But other bowlers of Gujarat Titans could not leave much of an impression and the rest of the bowlers of Gujarat Titans together gave 192 runs in 16 overs, which is exactly 12 runs per over. Whereas, Rashid gave runs at an economy of 4.25. This is not just a small figure in a match decided by a margin of one run. This is the most important thing to the bowling of this match.

He also bowled 10 dot balls in 24 balls and gave only one boundary. On a night when Gujarat’s seamers were repeatedly giving Delhi a chance to play freely, Rashid was the only bowler who made it difficult for Delhi to chase the target.