NEW DELHI: Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan always makes the batters dance to his tunes with his deceptive variations but when the opportunity arises he also hogs limelight for his batting prowess.
Rashid rose to the occasion and made a mockery of Australia bowlers during the World Cup match as he cracked an unbeaten 35 off just 18 balls to help Afghanistan post 291/5 - their highest ever total in the history of the World Cup.
The most electrifying moment of Rashid's explosive knock was when he smashed 16 runs off the final over delivered by Mitchell Starc, leaving the Wankhede Stadium crowd captivated.
Rashid started the over with a boundary over a third man followed by a six that went into the stands at long-off, bringing the 50-run stand with Ibrahim Zadran, who became Afghanistan's first batter to score a World Cup century.
In a sheer display of power, Rashid once again smashed Starc for a six on the penultimate dilvery of the over as he slapped a flat six that flew into the stands at square leg.
Zadran anchored the Afghan innings with an unbeaten 129 from 143 balls after they side won the toss and elected to bat. The 21-year-old Zadran's fifth hundred in the 50-overs format was studded with eight fours and three sixes.
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