England all-rounder Moeen Ali has rated his teammate Adil Rashid as the best leg-spinner in the world after the Three Lions won their second T20 World Cup crown by beating Pakistan with five wickets at the iconic MCG on Sunday. Rashid was once again right on the money and played a key role in the team’s win.
The leg-spinner first dismissed Mohammad Haris, who is well-known for his attacking game. Rashid then bowled a wicket-maiden in which he got the big wicket of Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The leg-spinner returned with figures of 2-22 in his quota of four overs and played a key role in restricting the opposition to 137 runs after Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to bowl first.
In fact, Rashid had returned with figures of 1-20 against India in the all-important semi-final. Ali feels Rashid bowled at his best against two teams that play spin really well.
Moeen Ali said while talking to Star Sports after the match, “Last two games he has bowled amazingly well against two teams that play spin really well. I feel big players turn up at the right time and Rashid is a massive player for us. He certainly turned up over the last two games. I am obviously really proud of him. My own opinion is he showed that he is the best leg-spinner in the world.”
Meanwhile, England became the first team to hold both ODI and T20 World Cup at the same time. Ali hailed the team management for their consistency.
“To have consistency in the selection. The management changed a little bit, yet we stayed with that fearless sort of approach. The boys have been amazing. I feel we deserved it over the last four-five years and we never really got over the line. Jos (Buttler) has been amazing as a captain, he has done a great job.
On the other hand, Sam Curran returned with impressive figures of 3-12 in his quota of four overs. Curran took a total of 13 wickets in six matches at an average of 11.38 and an economy rate of 6.50. Thus, he was awarded the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Tournament. Ali revealed that Curran relishes the big match occasion.
“Very proud, he is a brilliant young player. He has been around for a while now. He loves the big occasion and he loves when the pressure is on, and he is only getting better and better as he has gotten a run in the team, which is really important for him.”
Ali added, “I believe he still got a lot more to come with the ball and in particular with the bat.”
