Bulawayo, Jan 6 Rashid Khan produced a memorable return to Test cricket, with a seven-wicket haul which earned him the Man of the Match award as Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in the second Test match at the Queen Sports Club on Monday.
The 26-year-old, who played his first Test match in three years, claimed he had belief in his abilities despite not touching the red ball for the longest time. Rashid bagged 11 wickets in the match including 7-66 in the second innings.
"After three years, back in Test cricket, it was hard for me to come back from back surgery and play the longest format. It is a team effort, the way they (the batters) delivered with the bat in the second innings - that got us back (in the game), Rashid said after the win.
"I have not bowled much with the red ball, have not even touched it (in the last three years). Tried to have belief (in what I have been doing the last 10-12 years in international cricket). Does not matter if I am bowling quicker or slower, but more about the length I ball - that is what creates problems. I try to adjust to the conditions as quickly as I can,” he added.
Rashid, who has not played a Test match since March 2021, had been absent from Afghanistan's recent Test series due to injury. Following that, a back injury led to a break from red-ball cricket as advised by his physicians, causing him to miss the national team’s red ball outings. Rashid then missed Afghanistan’s next Test assignments against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ireland due to a combination of rest and injury.
Afghanistan clinched the 1-0 series victory over Zimbabwe, after the first game ended in a high-scoring draw, thanks to great batting efforts by Rahmat Shah, who was awarded the Player of the Series, and debutant Ismat Alam who scored a century in the second innings after being dismissed for a duck in the first in the second Test. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi hailed the duo along with Rashid for their contributions in the win.
“Credit goes to the entire team, but especially to Rahmat, Izmat and Rashid. First of all, I will talk about Rahmat. He has always showed his talent when the team needs him. One of the best innings he has played in front of me. He (Izmat) has scored a lot of runs in First-Class cricket. We played a lot of First-Class cricket this year and that helped us to pick players, and made him mature,” said Shahidi.
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