Former India pacer Zaheer Khan explained why Harshit Rana did not have a memorable performance with the ball against Australia in the first ODI at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. India lost by seven wickets and failed to defend a DLS revised target of 131 runs in 26 overs in the rain-shortened match.
A section of the cricket fraternity has criticized Rana’s selection in the Indian squads for the white-ball tour of Australia. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir defended the 23-year-old after India’s 2-0 win over the West Indies in the recently concluded home Test series earlier this month.
On Sunday, Rana had a great opportunity to silence his critics. However, he failed to hit his cushions, giving away 27 runs in his four overs and going wicketless. He was also dismissed for one run off two balls in the first innings as he failed to support Nitish Kumar Reddy in the latter end of India’s innings.
The legendary Zaheer opined that Harshit is a hit-the-deck bowler but he bowled a few deliveries on the fuller side on Sunday. Zaheer noted that despite good bowling results, it has not translated into wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders speedster.
“I think Harshit Rana is a real bowler. Some of the deliveries he bowled today were fuller. It’s about getting the right length. It will help create those opportunities to take wickets. He bowls good deliveries but they don’t result in wickets. The moment you convert it, your confidence and approach will change,” Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.
Defending 131 runs in 26 overs against a strong and flamboyant Australian batting line-up was always going to be difficult. However, Zaheer was impressed with the intention of the Indian bowling department.
“I was happy with the intention. You have to judge your defense based on that. Arshdeep made an early breakthrough. When you defend an under-par total, you can be desperate for wickets, but it’s a good sign. And in that process you start to falter a bit. You leak runs because you want to create chances. I liked the intention of all the bowlers. The body language was spot on too.”
Rohit and Virat are both there, so it will help him: Zaheer on Shubman Gill’s captaincy
Zaheer said Shubman Gill did everything he could on his ODI captaincy debut. The 47-year-old believes the presence of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will help the Punjab batsman settle into his new role.
“I think he has done everything he can. He started with a loss in his Test captaincy and then impressed. He is starting ODIs in similar fashion. I think he has a long way to go. Rohit and Virat are both there, so it will be a help for him,” he said.
Zaheer said India were unlucky due to frequent rain showers during their batting essay. He believes the Men in Blue failed to estimate what a good score on the course might be as each rain break reduced the number of overs in the match.
“There were a lot of stoppages. India couldn’t get the rhythm going. They didn’t really get a chance to know the number of overs to build the innings. Every time there is a stoppage you have to recalibrate the variables. For Australia, it was very simple when they came out to bat. It was a serious advantage. You can still take lessons from a match like that. How they can start at the top. In Australia you have to score runs. One wicket at the top would never create the foundation.” scenario for Australia to feel the pressure,” he added.
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