Harshit Rana came back from a tough start to his India ODI career to pick up three wickets in the first game vs England at Nagpur. Rana was hit for 11 and 26 runs respectively in his first and third overs, but then came back to pick up the wickets of Ben Duckett, Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone. Rana revealed that a chat with Indian captain Rohit Sharma, and a small tweak after that, made all the difference on his ODI debut. In his third over, Harshit was slammed for 26 runs by England opener and his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Phil Salt.
"They were just looking for room. Their only chance to free their arms and attack was when they got some space. So, that's what Rohit bhaiya (Rohit Sharma) and I discussed that I should bowl as tight as possible. And that's what I tried to do," Rana explained, speaking after the England innings.
After impressing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for KKR, Rana has risen through the ranks in the Indian team, making his international debut in all three formats of the game in the space of three months. Rana labelled it a "dream life".
"It's a dream life, but I have worked really hard for this, so it feels like I am finally reaping the rewards of that effort," Rana said.
Rana was entrusted by Rohit Sharma with another over during the powerplay, and delivered with two wickets in the space of four balls.
Rana first took the wicket of Ben Duckett, after a phenomenal catch by fellow debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Just three balls later, a sharp short ball from Rana saw Harry Brook glove it to KL Rahul behind the stumps.
India won the match by four wickets and with over 11 overs to spare, after restricting England to only 248.