Adil Rashid stresses that England must ‘keep the crowd quiet’ during second T20 clash against India as his side look to build upon Friday’s emphatic eight-wicket win
- Adil Rashid has outlined the importance of silencing the India crowd on Sunday
- Rashid’s dismissal of Indian captain Virat Kohli kept the crowd quiet on Friday
- The 33-year-old has played down speculation regarding a Test recall
Adil Rashid goes into Sunday’s second T20 game against India at Ahmedabad knowing that silence will be golden. Keep a huge crowd quiet, as England did during Friday’s emphatic eight-wicket win, and their grip on the No 1 ranking will be strengthened only seven months out from the World Cup.
No moment better summed this up than his dismissal of Indian captain Virat Kohli, caught at mid-off by Chris Jordan for a five-ball duck.
‘Before then, the crowd was very, very loud,’ said Rashid. ‘The Indian fans are very passionate, so it’s nice to get the big players out early doors to keep the crowd quiet. You can actually hear yourselves talk to each other. That’s not something you can generally do in India.’
England’s Adil Rashid has stressed the importance of silencing the India fans on Sunday
Rashid’s dismissal of India captain Virat Kohli on Friday led to the India fans falling silent
For England’s leg-spinner, that game revealed a brave new world: for the first time in 53 T20 internationals, he opened the bowling. Figures of one for 14 from three overs, two of them as India stumbled through the powerplay, suggest it won’t be the last.
Rashid had been practising with the new ball ahead of the match by bowling to Jason Roy, who these days almost always faces spin in the first over after opposing captains cottoned on to a weakness. He responded on Friday with a match-clinching 49 off 32 balls.
But all eyes will be on Rashid again on Sunday after he removed Kohli for the seventh time in international cricket. On the previous six occasions, split between Tests and ODIs, Kohli had already made 40, 81, 75, 71, 149 and 97 – though that sequence included an eye-popping leg-break in a one-dayer at Headingley in 2018 that left India’s captain staring at the pitch in disbelief.
The only question ahead of Sunday’s game is whether England are going to recall Moeen Ali
Sensibly, Rashid was not about to declare Kohli his bunny, and settled for diplomacy: ‘It’s always nice to get a world-class player out, and maybe get him a couple of times as well.’
Rashid, now 33, is at the peak of his powers as a white-ball spinner, and played down talk of a Test recall. Not only is he unsure whether his right shoulder can take the strain, but he has not played red-ball cricket since the Bridgetown Test of January 2019.
The only question ahead of Sunday’s game was whether England were going to recall his close friend Moeen Ali. Win on Sunday, and they are guaranteed top spot in the rankings come the end of the five-match series.