The Royal Challengers Bangalore were in a spot of bother against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Tuesday when Shahbaz Ahmed and wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik took the onus on themselves and provided the much-needed resistance to the side.
Chasing a stiff target of 170, RCB were left tottering at 87/5 before Shahbaz Ahmed and Karthik joined hands for a partnership of 67 runs for the fifth wicket that eventually won the match for their side.
Virat Kohli congratulates Shahbaz Ahmed after he helped Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals. Image: Sportzpics for IPL
While Karthik remained unbeaten at 44 off 23, a knock that included seven fours and a maximum, Shahbaz on the other side, too made an important contribution of 45 in 26 deliveries. He struck four fours and three sixes during his innings. RCB eventually won the game by four wickets with five balls to spare.
RCB’s new skipper Faf du Plessis also lavished praise on “small skinny guy” Shahbaz after his match-winning knock.
“People think that since he (Shahbaz) is a small skinny guy, he can’t hit it long but he can smash it a long way. We didn’t bowl him today because of the wet ball and left-hander being around but he’ll definitely play a long part in this season,” Faf said after the match.
Who is Shahbaz Ahmed?
Shahbaz Ahmed is a left-handed all-rounder who hails from Mewat, Haryana, and plays for Bengal at the domestic level. He made his first appearance for Bengal in a List A game against J&K in September 2018 and made his FC debut later that year against Hyderabad. In February 2019, Shahbaz played his first T20 match against Haryana.
The left-hander made headlines after he scalped a hattrick for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy fixture against Hyderabad in January 2021 and played a key role in his side’s thumping win in that clash. Shahbaz scalped a total of four wickets in the first innings and followed it with a couple in the second as Bengal defeated Hyderabad by an innings and 303 runs.
“This hat-trick will boost my confidence further,” he said then.
Shahbaz Ahmed became the seventh player to register a hat-trick for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
IPL career
Shahbaz Ahmed has been a part of the IPL and the Bangalore franchise since 2020. He was first bought by the franchise for an INR 20 lakh ahead of the 2020 edition and played two games during the season. The left-arm player had two wickets to his name in that edition.
But he was an integral part of the XI in the 2021 edition and was capped 11 times where he bagged seven wickets but bowled at an impressive economy rate of 6.57. The left-arm spinner produced a match-winning spell in that season for RCB against Sunrisers Hyderabad when he returned with figures of 3/7 in two overs, helping his side defend a target of 150 runs.
The franchise had then released him ahead of the 2022 mega auctions only to get Shahbaz Ahmed back for a sum of Rs 2.4 crore.
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