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Young Harshit Rana has repaid the selectors and team management's faith as the designated no.8 batter in the ODIs. Rana walked in to bat when India were 178/6 in the run chase of 338 in the series decider against New Zealand. He did not just play second fiddle to Virat Kohli but contributed with a 43-ball 52 to leave New Zealand players puzzled. While Rana departed in the slog overs, leading to India's 41 runs, his maiden ODI fifty made his biggest critic, former India opener Kris Srikkanth his fan. Srikkanth said that Kiwis were clueless. He was in awe of the youngster’s six-hitting in Indore.
“Virat Kohli is King of Kings. Bow down to him. What a knock! If you look at the scorecard and the fall of wickets, they fell continuously. It was 1/28, 2/45, 3/68 and 4/71. Nitish Kumar Reddy came and steadied the innings and later hit sixes,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube show.
“But the real game-changer was Harshit Rana. The way Rana was batting, New Zealand players were shivering. I was amazed by Rana’s batting and performed at a different level. They were literally shaking and didn’t know what to do. He was hitting sixes effortlessly and his batting was tremendous."
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Rana hit four sixes and as many fours in his 52-run knock. He shared a 99-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Kohli. Srikkanth feels that Rana’s knock gave Kohli hope in the run chase, leaving New Zealand scared.
“Out of the 99 runs that Virat Kohli and Harshit Rana added, Rana made 52. That 52 runs were crucial and gave Kohli hope even though the asking rate was above 11. Rana’s hitting reduced it to 10 and New Zealand were scared. New Zealand captain was scared too,” the former chief selector added.
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The 24-year-old averages 24.80 with 124 runs from seven ODI innings. His strike rate is an impressive 121.56. India are looking at him to lengthen the batting lineup keeping the ODI World Cup 2027 on South African soil in mind.
When Srikkanth questioned Rana’s place
Srikkanth’s praise for Rana came after he questioned his place in the ODI side for Australia tour. He had alleged head coach Gautam Gambhir of favouritism while selecting the squad. He also wondered why others are rested but Rana retains his place in India squad across formats.
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