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From not bowling a single over in three games, batting all-rounder Nitish Rana bowled four overs of off-spin against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 21. Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel’s Rana ploy backfired as he ended up conceding 55 runs. In doing so, he held himself back along with Kuldeep Yadav, bowling just two overs each. As SRH posted 242/2 and won the game by a comfortable margin of 47 runs, questions were asked over Rana’s role as a part-timer. DC’s director of cricket, Venugopal Rao, played down the impact it had on the match, terming it as an instant decision which did not go their way.
"Whatever happens, happens on the field," Rao noted during the post-match press conference.
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"At the end of the day, we can point out things like Nitish Rana bowling four overs. See, these are instant decisions. Sometimes they click, sometimes they don’t. That’s how it is in this format.”
While Kuldeep was expensive, conceding 30 runs from two overs, Axar got the breakthrough with the wicket of Travis Head. Axar trusted match-ups and bowled just two overs, conceding 23 runs.
Paid the price for missed run out
Rao rued the missed run out chance by KL Rahul when Abhishek was getting back to the strike after completing his half-century.
“A kind of caliber he has, he’s shown in the last couple of years what he has done. When he gives us the opportunity, we need to take it,” Rao stated.
“Post 50 runs he gave one run out, gave a chance, we missed it… We paid the price.”
Rao expected better powerplay score, Stubbs position to be discussed
Rao also felt that DC were unable to maximise the powerplay overs. He felt that 59/1 wasn’t a good score after six overs, considering they were chasing 243. However, he defended Rahul who did not get enough strike once Nitish Rana arrived at the crease after the fall of Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka.
Rao was also asked whether Tristan Stubbs should be promoted up the order. The former India batter with 16 ODI caps said that Stubbs’ batting position is a discussion that they will have ahead of their next game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at home on April 25.
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