Former India opener Kris Srikkanth feels that young pacer Harshit Rana could have claimed the Player of the Match award if India had won the second ODI against Australia in Adelaide. Srikkanth, who had previously questioned Rana’s regular inclusion across formats, praised his initial spell.
However, the ex-captain also noted that Rana bowled too short in his second spell. Despite taking key wickets of Travis Head and Matthew Short, he gave away 59 runs in his eight overs. Commenting on Rana’s performance on his YouTube channel after the match, Srikkanth stated:
“He bowled very well in his first spell and picked up two good wickets. I thought India had won the match. In fact, when he picked up the second wicket, I thought he had a good chance to be the Player of the Match with a crucial 24 and two wickets. But exactly then, he bowled short ball after short ball and got smashed.”
He further continued:
“Bowling short at that pace is no use. Australians love short-pitched bowling and we fed them repeatedly. Harshit Rana bowls well when he comes over the wicket but gets smashed when he goes round the wicket. He took the first wicket out of the confidence he got with his knock.”
“I thought after getting a second wicket, he got his confidence back. But after that he and the rest of the bowlers fed Mitchell Owen and Cooper Connolly. He bowled a terrible second spell. First spell he bowled very well.”
“Batted Like A Middle-Order Hitter” – Kris Srikkanth
Kris Srikkanth also lauded Harshit Rana for his timely batting contribution in the second ODI. The 23-year-old walked in when India were struggling at 223/7 in the 45th over and smashed a rapid 24* off just 18 balls. His brisk cameo ensured India finished with a competitive total of 264 in their 50 overs on Adelaide’s challenging pitch.
“I’ll be honest, he really batted well today. What I liked was the way he cut the ball. He played like a middle order batter, his shots. The partnership between him and Arshdeep Singh was very crucial. I thought the two of them got us to a winning position. India was supposed to be bowled out for 230, which would have been a complete collapse,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
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