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Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan hailed Harshit Rana for overcoming criticism and stepping up his performance big time during the ODI series against Australia. This comes after Harshit recorded figures of 4/39 in the third and final ODI of the series against Australia and played a key role n the Men in Blue's thumping 9-wicket victory.
Coming into the series, multiple former India cricketers had criticised Harshit's selection into the ODI squad and they were certainly not in favour of him featuring in the assignment. However, the 23-year-old didn't let the scrutiny affect his performance much and finished the series with six wickets from three matches.
Pathan's take on Harshit's mentality
Pathan was left impressed with Harshit's mentality and remarked that even though the pacer was mentally hurt, he still went on to give a fine performance with the ball and left the criticism behind him.
"Skill is one thing, but he was being mentally hurt repeatedly for a while because he faced a lot of criticism. Questions were being asked as to why he was playing. After he took the fourth wicket, the smile showed that a lot had happened in the past, but he had left it behind," Pathan said on his Youtube channel.
Pathan then explained how Harshit went on to succeed in the third ODI. He first pointed out how the young pacer was repeatedly clocking sppeds close to 140 kph and used the over-the-wicket and around-the-wicket angle to his advantage.
"Harshit Rana played a different role today. He did first-change bowling earlier, but he got an opportunity to start with the new ball today. He looked in a different rhythm. His pace was up. We were regularly seeing speeds close to 140 kph," Pathan stated.
"The way he used the over-the-wicket and around-the-wicket angle, he looked the best in that. We got to see variations along with consistent line and length. A different zip was seen. He was more confident as well," he added.
Harshit's career-best spell
The four-wicket haul against Australia was Harshit's career-best display in ODIs. The 23-year-old has so far played just eight matches for India in the format, picking up 16 wickets and maintaining a decent economy rate of 5.82. He will be hoping to continue his great form in India's next ODI assignment that will be a three-match series against South Africa and will commence from November 30.
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