So that’s why they picked him? England selectors caused a stir when they named Adil Rashid in their squad to take on India last month despite the leggie ruling himself out of first-class cricket for Yorkshire. On the final day of the series, Rashid showed everyone why he has always excited selectors, producing a contender for ball of the 21st century to remove century-maker KL Rahul. With the hosts desperate to see the back of Rahul, and all but cement a 4-1 series win, Rashid pitched one well wide of leg-stump from around the wicket, and spun it past the right-hander’s bat and pads to rattle off-stump. The dismissal sent Rahul on his way for 149, and proved the final nail in India’s coffin -- the tourists sliding from 5-325 to 345 all out in a chase of 464. It also had a hint of Shane Warne to it but was it really the ’ball of the 21st century’?<doc-sep>Hack: Adil Rashid bowled brilliant leg-break to get rid of KL Rahul on the fifth day against India, which seemed similar to Shane Warne's 'ball of the century' The Australian leg-spinning great dismissed England's Mike Gatting in 1993 with a ball which spun miles Remember Shane Warne, and two of his famous dismissals? The Australian leg-spinning great dismissed England's Mike Gatting in 1993 with a ball which spun miles. Warne repeated his feat again, this time against Andrew Strauss in 2005, with yet another delivery which had insane spin in it. Both the deliveries are considered as two of the greatest deliveries of all time, with the 1993 wicket termed as the 'ball of the century'. And now, it seems the cricket fans have witnessed the 'ball of 21st century'! In the final innings of fifth Test between England and India at Oval, Adil Rashid, yet another leg-spinner, got rid of a well-set KL Rahul with spinning ball as good as that of Warne, if not better. He took the wicket in the first ball of the 82nd over of the final innings. India, chasing an astonishing 464, were looking set for the impossible. Rahul was unbeaten on 149, and was supported brilliantly by Rishabh Pant, who had scored his maiden test century and was 113 at that stage. All the England bowlers were struggling to stop the attack of the two batsmen. The spinners, Rashid and Moeen Ali, were being attacked mercilessly. But just when all hopes seemed lost, Rashid delivered the big wicket in style. Bowling around the wicket to Rahul, he delivered the ball right in the rough, which made it spin big time. The batsman, standing on the backfoot, hoping to deadbat it, was beaten as the ball clattered into the stumps. It seemed like a carbon-copy of the wicket Warne took in 1993. You just can't beat Adil Rashid when his rotation is like this #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/kaWE06HGtd — I PROMISE I Will Never Stop Going In (@mericanViolence) September 11, 2018 After watching the dismissal, the fans on Twitter were left stunned, and had nothing but praise for Rashid. This is why you have Rashid in the Test side. He can be expensive, but when you have a spinner that can bowl balls like this, you have to keep him in the side. That is Warne-esque. #ENGvIND https://t.co/wcLPyIh1MJ — Reginaldo Rosario 🇵🇹 (@Regi1700) September 11, 2018 INSANE DELIVERY from #Rashid WOW .. think Shane Warne v Andrew Strauss ... same planet 🏏👊👏👏.. #TakeABow https://t.co/OHFepf7U7q — Si Carney (@sicarney) September 11, 2018 Adil Rashid has turned into Shane Warne. 😲😲 Special delivery to get Rahul.#ENGvIND — Waѕiyullah Budye (@WasiyullahB) September 11, 2018 Wow wow. Rashid bowling Rahul from outside the leg stump. Reminds me of the ball of the century -- Shane Warne bowling Mike Gatting. 😀 — navien marwah (@navien15) September 11, 2018 Prior to the dismissal, India, on the back of some aggressive batting by Rahul and Pant, were looking to chase down a gigantic total on the final day. Having started the day at 58 for 3, the visitors lost two wickets in no time, as Ajinkya Rahane and first innings star Hanuma Vihari were back to the pavilion. When it seemed that the game may end by lunch, two future generation players of Indian cricket showed their talent, and rescued India back from the clutches. WATCH: Alastair Cook Gets Beer As A Gift From English Media Rahul was attacking right from the offset, but the introduction of Pant saw the opener taking his time. The two shared a brilliant 204-run partnership, and reached their respective century mark respectively. But just when it seemed India will successfully chase down the highest fourth innings total, Rashid struck. Get India vs Pakistan live Cricket score & follow ball by ball commentary from Asia cup 2018 only on Republic World. Stay updated with latest cricket news from across the globe. Download the Republic TV app or the visit the website to watch Live TV & get today’s sports news from the world of sports.<doc-sep>Early on this final day, when it looked as if the fifth Test would drift rather than sprint towards its likely outcome, the idea of filing a column with some series awards had begun to take shape. Adil Rashid was up for at least one. Perhaps Rashid might get Best Walking Around for his “invisible” game at Lord’s, where he walked close to 10 miles from midwicket to deep fine-leg without taking a catch, bowling a ball or batting. He might even have been an outside shot for the coveted Strangest Selection, given his recurrent inactivity and the rage generated in Yorkshire by the acceptance of an England Test call. That changed here at 4.20pm, with India on 325 for five, both batsmen past their hundreds, and the day just starting to get away from England. When bowling, Rashid had been running wide of the crease all afternoon, occasionally ending up almost outside the tramlines from around the wicket. He jumped wide here again for his first ball of a new over. It was a hard-spun leg-break, a little flatter than he usually bowls. It dipped just a little. KL Rahul might have kicked it away. But he was on 149 and romping along. Instead he tried to glide it for a single, bringing the bat across his body towards a ball that pitched so far outside the stumps Johnny Bairstow was already skipping off down the leg side. At which point the world turned on its side just a little. The ball spat sideways, zinging across the face of Rahul’s bat and taking the flight path vacated by his attempt at a leg-glide. Finally it clipped the outside of the off-stump, displacing a single bail. Rahul whirled round and stood for a second looking baffled, as well he might. This was a ball that had been heading towards Tower Hamlets, then set off without warning in the direction of Battersea, like a cabbie throwing a U-turn on the Harleyford Road. Rashid leapt up and punched the air at a moment conjured out of an old ball and a dead, brown September pitch. Such is the hunger for superlatives there will be a willingness to anoint this as yet another Ball of the Decade candidate. But Rahul was attempting to score and was not deceived in the manner of, say, Mike Gatting who wandered off at Old Trafford 25 years ago shaking his head like a man who had just had his shoes stolen while he nodded off on the tube. It was, though, a supremely well-timed piece of work from Rashid, not least because England needed it. Rahul and the sensational 20-year-old Rishabh Pant had carved and driven the bowling round the outfield like a pair of lords on a spree. And really this was the story of the day, a partnership of 204 in 44 overs between two brilliantly pure batting talents that elevated this final day of a five-month Test match summer to a piece of gloriously pure entertainment. For a while it was a joy simply to be there watching it happen. Did you see Rahul spanking that short ball from Ben Stokes over cover for six before lunch, the kind of shot you might play in the garden with a tennis ball and a plastic bat? Did you see Pant whirling his arms like a Mexican featherweight, plonking the ball over long-off with a slash of those fast-twitch wrists? And did you see him go to his hundred off 117 balls with another gloriously violent straight hit, the bat slashed from left to right like a fencer filleting his opponent? It could not last. In the end Rashid did what he had been picked for, finding enough rip late on to tip the day England’s way. In his next over he had Pant out for a brilliant 114, caught shovelling the googly high in the air to long-on. Rashid will not take the headlines but he did finish the series with 10 wickets at 30, the best English leg-spinner’s return since Tommy Greenhough in 1959. It has been a decent-to-good summer and Rashid will surely go to Sri Lanka now. But whatever happens, whatever the ultimate fall-out from a rancorous selection, he will always have Kennington, KL and a lovely little moment of late-summer mischief.<doc-sep>
A stunning delivery from England leg spinner Adil Rashid has sent the cricket world into a frenzy, with many comparing it to Shane Warne's "ball of the century". Debate is raging as to whether Rashid's dismissal of India's KL Rahul on day five of the fifth Test at the Oval in London was a superior delivery to that produced by Warne back in 1993. India was chasing a mammoth target of 464 for victory and the tourists were travelling nicely at 5/325, with opener Rahul - unbeaten on 149 - on strike to Rashid. What followed next left not only Rahul shocked but also spectators and a massive TV audience, with live coverage going back to cricket-mad India. Rashid, bowling around the wicket to Rahul, pitched his delivery well outside leg and into the rough, hoping to make the most of the deteriorating wicket. India's KL Rahul looks back in astonishment after being bowled by Adil Rashid. ( Reuters: Paul Childs The ball spun back out of the rough, as Rahul went on the backfoot looking to defend, and hit off stump to leave the India batsman bamboozled. It was immediately proclaimed as a "Shane Warne ball" by England cricketing great Geoffrey Boycott, who was commentating for the BBC. England players immediately surrounded Rashid to celebrate, with Rahul staring back at the stumps in bewilderment, offering a similar reaction to Mike Gatting when he was bowled by Warne 25 years ago. Loading Warne made himself known on the international stage with his maiden delivery in a Test against England. He stunningly dismissed Gatting at Old Trafford during the opening Test of the Ashes series with what became known as the "ball of the century" and what was described at the time by Richie Benaud as "the most beautiful delivery". 'Wow, that's the ball of this century' BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew, when interviewing Rashid after the match, marvelled at the England tweaker's performance. "People are already talking about it, 'Wow, that's the ball of this century', I don't how he was supposed to have played that, it went miles," Agnew said. Adil Rashid celebrates taking the wicket of KL Rahul with his miraculous delivery. ( Reuters: Paul Childs A modest Rashid explained he was just trying to make the most of the fifth-day pitch conditions. "I had a simple plan, I was trying to spin it hard into the rough with some variations," Rashid said. "Lucky for me that spun quite a bit and hit the top of off [stump], which was good." Twitter went into a spin as to whether Rashid's delivery trumped that of Warne's in 1993. Loading Loading Rahul's wicket proved crucial to England, breaking a 204-run partnership between him and another century maker Rishabh Pant. Rashid then removed Pant (114) two overs later and the hosts eventually dismissed India for 345 to record a 118-run victory. James Anderson took the final Indian wicket of Mohammed Shami to become the most successful fast bowler in Test history with 564 dismissals to surpass the previous mark set by Australian great Glenn McGrath.