Behind Virat Kohli's Failed Chase Of 338, India Great Points Out The 'Harshit Rana Setback'

The third and final ODI between India and New Zealand saw the tourists secure a comfortable victory after putting a gigantic total of 337 on the board. India, despite Virat Kohli's century, couldn't get over the mark. Kohli did receive company from the lower middle order, as the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana contributed to the chase with half-centuries. It isn't often that one sees India losing a match when Kohli scores a hundred while chasing. India's 1983 World Cup winner, Kris Srikkanth, feels Harshit's dismissal pushed Kohli to go ultra-aggressive, which led to his dismissal.

Srikkanth, who has often criticised Rana over his selection to the Indian team, took a contrasting stand this time as he hailed the pace bowler for his performances with the bat. He even suggested that Rana's effortless hitting made the opponent team's captain shiver in fear.

"Virat Kohli is King of Kings. Bow down to him. What a knock! If you look at the scorecard and the fall of wickets, they fell continuously. It was 1/28, 2/45, 3/68 and 4/71. Nitish Kumar Reddy came and steadied the innings and later hit sixes. But the real game-changer was Harshit Rana. The way Rana was batting, New Zealand players were shivering. I was amazed by Rana's batting and performed at a different level. They were literally shaking and didn't know what to do. He was hitting sixes effortlessly, and his batting was tremendous," Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Out of the 99 runs that Virat Kohli and Harshit Rana added, Rana made 52. Those 52 runs were crucial and gave Kohli hope even though the asking rate was above 11. Rana's hitting reduced it to 10 and New Zealand were scared. The New Zealand captain was scared too," he added.

Sharing his analysis of the game, Srikkanth feels there was a need for one of the batters to take the game deep alongside Kohli. That job, ideally, should've been executed by Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored a fifty in the match. But, seeing Reddy and later Rana depart, Kohli had no other option other than playing a more aggressive brand of cricket. The result was his dismissal for a score of 124.

"Nitish Kumar Reddy might have felt he ate up too many balls, so he went for two sixes and struck a boundary. He made up for that with two sixes. But he could have slowed down then to take the game deeper. But Kohli played an outstanding knock and hit a six in his first few balls. There was no way to get him out. He is not only King of Kings but also King of Chases. It is a rare occasion for Kohli to score a century and lose. Kohli was disappointed after Rana's dismissal, and he had to go for the big shots. He couldn't depend on Kuldeep Yadav and got dismissed in that desperation," Srikkanth asserted.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Virat Kohli Harshit Rana Krisnamachari Srikkanth India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket