IPL 2018 | Nitish Rana wants to bowl more after getting Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers out

The IPL is up and running as three games have been completed. In the third game, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were going very well after being put into bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). At one stage, Virat Kohli was struggling as he found it hard to time the ball. However, the arrival of AB de Villiers changed the momentum and Kohli fed off de Villiers’ positivity. The duo added 64 runs in just 36 balls before they hit a huge roadblock, perhaps a game-changing one. 

In the 15th over, Dinesh Karthik in a bid to break the partnership between Kohli and de Villiers brought Nitish Rana into the attack. The 24-year-old Delhi player had just bowled one over in his 17-game IPL career and when he was hit for a six on the first ball by AB de Villiers, it looked like the latter will turn it into a big over. However, Rana sprung a surprise as he dismissed the South African star off the very next delivery (second ball of the over). He was not done yet as he also removed the RCB skipper with a pin-point yorker. 

Suddenly, Nitish Rana was the bowling hero for KKR as he became the third bowler to dismiss the famed batting duo off successive deliveries. After the game, Rana revealed that he wants to bowl more often. 

“I had nothing to lose and a lot to gain. I saw Piyush (Chawla) and Sunil Narine bowling from that end (Club House End) and found that the ball was gripping. So I knew if I hit the right areas, I thought could get rewards. At that stage it was important to get them out,” Rana was quoted saying by Hindustan Times after the game. 

Rana has bowled in a few domestic games and has picked up 7 first-class wickets and 9 List ‘A’ wickets. He bowled his part-time off-spinners for Delhi in this year’s domestic tournaments as well. 

“I do bowl at the domestic level in Delhi. Here too, I bowled in a practice game and did well. That’s when Dinesh told me to be ready. I was backing myself and got lucky,” Rana added. 

After a magical over with the ball, the 24-year-old Delhi player then played a calm hand of 34 (in 25 balls). At 83/3, things did look a little dicey for the hosts, but Rana along with skipper Karthik guided KKR home. With star batsmen around him and Sunil Narine’s success at the top of the order, Rana’s batting position might not be constant. But the left-handed batter isn’t too worried about it. 

“I can bat anywhere and am okay with the pressure of living up to expectation. Actually, a little pressure helps your batting,” the 24-year-old said.

KKR will now travel to Chennai to face them on April 10 (Tuesday).