Harshit Rana could very well end up being the biggest positive takeaway for Team India at the end of the IND vs NZ ODI series.
In the previous couple of ODI series, against Australia and South Africa, Rana showed his skillset with the ball in the powerplay and in the middle overs.
He continued that form in the India vs New Zealand ODI series. Apart from his impressive show with the ball in hand, Harshit established his credentials at the No. 8 spot by smacking 29 runs off 23 balls in the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, where his partnership with KL Rahul helped India seal a tense chase.
In the IND vs NZ 2nd ODI, too, Rana carried on with his terrific rhythm as a bowler and, for the second consecutive match, dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway. And both times the left-handed Kiwi opener was bowled by Rana.
While in the first ODI, Conway creamed a half-century before Harshit castled him, in the second ODI, played on Wednesday in Rajkot, Conway managed only 16 runs prior to losing his off-stump to a jaffa from the Indian pacer.
Harshit Rana was quick to go around the wicket to Conway in order to cramp him for room, knowing well how good Conway is with cut shots and drives through the covers.
On this particular delivery, Harshit angled the ball into Conway, with the ball pitching on the perfect good length that had Conway confused as to whether to go forward or hang back. He did neither. Conway pushed with his hands at the ball, and no feet movement meant he didn’t really go hard at it either.
The ball held its line—as opposed to going with the angle that Conway expected—and beat the batsman’s outside edge before rattling into the off-stump and sending it out of the ground. The off-stump lay flat a few feet away from Conway as Rana celebrated with skipper Shubman Gill.
Video: Harshit Rana Sends Devon Conway’s Off-Stump Rolling With A Jaffa In IND vs NZ 2nd ODI
In the first ODI, Rana had broken the 117-run opening stand between Conway and Henry Nicholls. He got rid of both openers that allowed India to break in and halt New Zealand at 300, a total the hosts gunned down with only six balls remaining.
Meanwhile, in Rajkot, India posted 284/7, riding on KL Rahul’s splendid knock of 112 runs off 92 balls. Gill was the second-highest innings scorer with 56.
India have put the Kiwis on a leash at the moment in the run chase. At the time of writing, New Zealand are 126/2 after 27 overs, with the required rate now hovering near seven runs per over.
IND vs NZ 2nd ODI Teams:
New Zealand: Kyle Jamieson, Michael Bracewell(c), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Zakary Foulkes, Henry Nicholls, Kristian Clarke, Jayden Lennox
India: KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill(c), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna
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