Debutant Harshit Rana bowled troubling lengths to Mitchell Starc in the morning session of Day 2 of first Test at Perth Stadium. Rana came round the wicket to Starc and bowled testing lengths, barely giving him any room to work with. In his second over, he bowled a short of length delivery that generated extra bounce from the pitch. Starc was surprised by the bounce but the edge fell short of the slip fielder. After negotiating with the short delivery, Starc had a few words for his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate.
Rana had his tongue out as he felt he should've got the wicket this time. Starc was quick to say "I bowl faster than you. I have a long memory."
Australian pacer warned Rana that he can bowl fast too and will not refrain from bowling short when he comes to bat. Rana did not have a fiery reply to Starc and smiled at him.
After a few overs, managed to get the wicket of Nathan Lyon with a short ball. But Starc continued to march on. He managed to hit a length delivery for a boundary. Skipper Jasprit Bumrah trusted Rana to bowl a long spell.
In the 40th over, Rana bowled a well directed short ball which did not bounce much. Starc tried to duck but it hit him flush on the helmet. Rana rushed to see if Starc is doing fine and it was followed by more banter. There were a few more words exchanged between the two.
Starc praises Rana
On Day 1, Rana got the wicket of Travis Head with a peach of a delivery to rattle the stumps. In the press conference after the day's play, Starc lauded Rana.
"It was a good ball. Yeah, I've only seen him with the white ball, so I haven't seen any of his longer-format stuff. But he's got some good stuff. I saw him through the IPL last year, and the ball to Travis Head was another good ball today. So, I'm sure that's one he'll cherish-his first wicket," the left-arm pacer said.
