Dissecting Rashid Khan's dominance over Ireland in numbers (ODIs)
What's the story
Team Afghanistan has qualified for next year's ICC ODI World Cup. The qualification was secured with a hard-fought victory in the third match of the five-match series against Ireland in Belfast, giving them a 2-0 lead. Rashid Khan was the star performer for the Afghan team, scalping three wickets before playing a crucial knock (37*). He has indeed enjoyed operating against the Irish team. Let's look at his numbers in this regard.
Stats
An average of 15.89
Rashid claimed 3/44 from 10 overs in the aforementioned game as the hosts were bundled out for 206.
In his preceding outing, the star leg-spinner bowled 7.4 overs and picked 6/34.
Both these spells earned him the Player-of-the-Match awards.
As per Cricinfo, Rashid has raced to 64 scalps from 28 ODIs against Ireland at a jaw-dropping average of 15.89.
Pakistan's Waqar Younis (15.84 vs New Zealand) is the only bowler to claim 60-plus ODI wickets against a team with a better average.
Six-fers
Twin six-fers against Ireland
Rashid had previously claimed 6/43 versus Ireland in the 2017 Greater Noida affair.
Younis also happens to be the only other bowler with multiple ODI six-fers against one opponent (2 vs New Zealand).
Overall, Rashid has six four-plus wicket hauls against Ireland - the joint-second-most for a bowler against a team.
He shares the position with Bangladesh's Abdur Razzak (vs Zimbabwe), Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, and NZ's Shane Bond (vs Australia).
Younis (7 vs NZ) leads this list as well.
Information
Rashid in a league of his own
No other bowler has managed even 40 wickets or more than two four-plus wicket hauls against Ireland. This speaks volumes about Rashid's dominance against the team. Meanwhile, 26 of Rashid's ODI wickets have come across 11 matches in Ireland at 15.65. No other overseas bowler has even 18 wickets in the country.
Career
Best bowling average in ODIs
Coming to his overall stats, Rashid has raced to 223 wickets from 122 ODIs (114 innings).
As per Cricinfo, his average of 19.47 is the best among bowlers with at least 150 scalps in the format (ER: 4.26).
He has clocked six four-fers besides seven five-wicket hauls.
Muralitharan (10) and Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (8) are the only spinners with more ODI fifers than Rashid.