'Hope We Make It Special…': Rashid Khan On His 100th ODI Match

image-locw8bqiRashid Khan celebrates a SL wicket at the 2023 World Cup (x.com)

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, who made his ODI debut back in October 2015, played the 100th match of his career by facing Sri Lanka at the 2023 World Cup. The dynamic all-rounder celebrated the occasion by cleaning up Sri Lanka’s well-set batsman Dhananjaya de Silva to finish with figures of 1-50 from his 10 overs.

Khan’s spell, coupled with a four-fer from Fazalhaq Farooqi and timely wickets from Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai helped Afghanistan fold up Sri Lanka for just 241.

During the mid-innings break, the 100-ODI veteran stated that he is happy to reach the landmark figure for his country and is hoping for his team to defeat Sri Lanka in their must-win World Cup 2023 game.

Rashid Khan hoping for a win in 100th ODI

After dismantling Sri Lanka inside their 50 overs, Rashid Khan hailed his bowling teammates for adjusting with the playing conditions in Lucknow. The cricketer also acknowledged the occasion of completing 100 ODI matches for his country, and hoped that the batters chase down the total later in the evening.

Khan claimed that his team had already decided to field first providing if they won the toss, considering that they had witnessed the India vs Bangladesh game played out at the same venue last week. He said:

“A great achievement to play 100 ODIs. Huge moment. Happy and I hope we make it special. It's a good wicket to bat on. We bowled well, adjusted with the conditions. We had a couple of practice sessions here. We watched the India-Bangladesh game. We had already decided to field first provided we won the toss, which we did.”

The match against Sri Lanka marks a must-win one for Afghanistan in a bid of keeping their semi-finals hopes alive. So far in the 2023 World Cup, Hashmatullah Shahidi and co. have defeated England and Pakistan to secure two wins from their first five fixtures.