Former India pacer Zaheer Khan explains why Harshit Rana did not have a noteworthy bowling performance against Australia in the first One-Day International at Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. India lost by seven wickets after failing to defend a DLS-revised goal of 131 runs in 26 overs in the rain-shortened match.
A portion of the cricketing community has criticized Rana’s inclusion in India’s selections for the white-ball tour of Australia. However, following India’s 2-0 victory over the West Indies in the just finished home Test series earlier this month, head coach Gautam Gambhir backed the 23-year-old.
On Sunday, Harshit Rana had an excellent opportunity to silence his critics.
However, he failed to hit his stride, conceding 27 runs in four overs and remaining wicketless. He was also removed for one run off two balls in the first innings, failing to provide support to Nitish Kumar Reddy at the tail end of India’s innings.
The famous Zaheer said Harshit is a hit-the-deck bowler, but he bowled a couple deliveries on the fuller side on Sunday. Zaheer pointed out that despite bowling solid deliveries, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ speedster is yet to pick up a wicket.
“I think Harshit Rana is a hit the deck kind of a bowler. Certain deliveries he bowled today were fuller. It’s just about getting the length right. It will help to create those wicket-taking opportunities. He is bowling good deliveries but those are not resulting in wickets. The moment you convert it, your confidence and approach will change,” Zaheer.
Defending 131 runs in 26 overs against a strong and flamboyant Australian batting lineup was always going to be tough. However, Zaheer was impressed with the intent shown by the Indian bowling department.
“I was happy with the intent. You’ve got to judge your defense on the basis of that. Arshdeep provided an early breakthrough. When you are defending a below-par total you can get desperate for wickets but it is a good sign. And in that process you are going to falter a bit. You will leak runs because you are looking to create opportunities. I liked the intent from all the bowlers. The body language was also right up there.”
Rohit and Virat are both there so it will be a help for him: Zaheer on Shubman Gill’s captaincy
Zaheer mentioned that Shubman Gill did everything he could on his ODI captaincy debut. The 47-year-old believes that the presence of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will help the Punjab batter ease into his new role.
“I think he’s done everything he can. He started with a loss in his Test captaincy and then made an impact. He is starting ODIs in similar fashion. I think he’s got a long way to go. Rohit and Virat are both there so it will be a help for him,” he said.
Zaheer said that India were unlucky because of the frequent rain breaks during their batting essay. He feels that the Men in Blue couldn’t assess what a good score could be on the track, as each rain break reduced the number of overs in the contest.
“There were a lot of stoppages. India could not get the rhythm going. They did not really get the opportunity of knowing the number of overs to build the innings. Every time there is a stoppage you have to realign to the variables. For Australia it was very simple when they went into bat. It was a serious advantage. You can still take learnings from such a game. How they can start at the top. You have to score runs in Australia. One wicket at the top was never going to create the scenario for Australia to feel the pressure,” he added.
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