Mumbai Indians' all-rounder Hardik Pandya received plaudits for his sizzling willow-wielding on Sunday, but opponents Knight Riders won't forget batter Nitish Rana in a hurry as well
Nitish Rana
MI's Nitish Rana at Wankhede on Sunday
Hardik Pandya's heroics towards the end of Mumbai Indians' thrilling encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night may have belied the fact that there was another Indian hero in the hosts' first win in the Indian Premier League-10.
It was Mumbai Indians' 23-year-old one-drop left-handed batsman Nitish Rana whose half-century helped the former champions to surpass Kolkata Knight Riders' 178 under lights.
Rana, who hails from Delhi, slammed 50 off 29 balls against his Delhi Ranji Trophy team skipper Gautam Gambhir's IPL franchise.
He walked in at 65 for one when Parthiv Patel was trapped leg before wicket by Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the eighth over. Yadav's first delivery to Rana — a wrong 'un — was hit to the fine leg boundary. He rotated the strike well, expecting Jos Buttler to go for the big shots, but Buttler was dismissed by pacer Ankit Rajpoot for 28. Rana didn't allow the loss of two quick wickets — Buttler and skipper Rohit Sharma — affect him. He decided to attack the bowling as Kuldeep witnessed when the fifth ball of his third over was swept to the boundary while the sixth one was lofted over extra cover for six.
Two full tosses by Rajpoot in the 19th over got belted for a six and four, but Rana was soon walking back to the pavilion after slicing one to point where Sunil Narine was stationed.
Former Delhi selector Hari Gidwani was not surprised by Rana's significant knock. "He's got a lot of ability and I remember our committee picking him three years ago. I remember him impressing with his fielding as well as his batting and off-spin. He's more than a useful spinner. As selector, what I look out for is a player's fielding and Rana was enthusiastic and eager," Gidwani told mid-day from Delhi yesterday.
Wasim Jaffer, the former Mumbai and India batting star will remember Rana too — for running him out for a duck in the Delhi vs Vidarbha Ranji Trophy match at the Kotla in 2015. Rana scored a half century in that game which Delhi won by 10 wickets.
Rana also showed his attacking skills during 2015-16 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in which he hit the highest number of sixes (21) in the tournament and helped his side reach the semi-final.
Sunday's man of the match has been part of the Mumbai Indians squad since the 2015 edition before impressing his seniors with a 36-ball 70 against Gujarat Lions at Kanpur in 2016. In his team's opener against Rising Pune Supergiant, he scored 34 off 28 balls, coming in at No. 4.
MI's chief coach and former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene expects more heroics.
"Nitish is a very talented player and showed a lot of quality. Hopefully, we can see more of that from him. I am pretty pleased that two young players carried us through. Nitish anchored the innings and Hardik came in and finished the job," said Jayawardene on Sunday after his team's four-wicket win.
50 Rana's score vs KKR, off 29 balls
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