The last couple of months have been a roller-coaster for Harshit Rana as he went on to make his debut for India across formats. While his performance in the second Test against Australia drew flak as he failed to live up to the expectations and went wicket-less, the young fast bowler from Delhi has made his presence felt in white-ball cricket.
Making his ODI debut against England on Thursday, Rana was taken to the cleaners by the England openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett before he bounced back and claimed three wickets.
Coming in place of Arshdeep Singh, it wasn’t easy for him to recover from the early blows, however, he kept his cool and eventually made an impact to push his case further for a spot in the Champions Trophy squad.
“There are always ups and downs in cricket. I only wanted to focus on my length, bowl where I have to and I got the reward for that later,” Rana said, making it clear that he did not do anything different in his second spell.
Ever since donning the India colours, he has been able to cut out the noise and focus on his game. Going forward, that’s what he intends to follow. “I believe that people will keep on talking. I just want to play – good or bad, I’m not bothered. I just want to deliver for my country. So, I don’t pay attention to those talks,” he said.
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On a ‘double-paced surface’ that offered enough to the seamers and the spinners, Rana managed to set up Harry Brook before claiming his wicket with a short delivery. “You can say that it was planned. Earlier, I wanted to set it up by bowling a short delivery. I was able to bowl a good short delivery and I got the reward,” he said.
He got to know about his debut once he reached the ground on Thursday morning, but he did not get carried away. “Mentally, I’m always prepared whenever I come to the ground. I know that I can play anytime, anything can happen. So, mentally, I always keep myself prepared,” he said, adding that while playing in ODIs, adaptability is the key.
“This format is a bit difficult because it’s a long format, you get 10 overs. You have to play different roles in different phases. But if you practice it, it’s good,” he said.
England captain Jos Buttler, meanwhile, defended his decision to bat first after winning the toss. “I think I probably would (still bat) with the start we got. The way the ball was turning at the end, absolutely if we had a bit more scoreboard pressure, it would have been a good chase,” Buttler said, making it clear that Phil Salt’s run-out broke the momentum for his team and was eventually the turning point.
