Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth showered praise on Harshit Rana after India registered a thumping nine-wicket win against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday in the third ODI of the series. Rana returned with impressive figures of 4-39 in 8.4 overs he bowled, claiming his best figures in ODIs.
The Delhi pacer accounted for Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen and Josh Hazlewood in his fine spell. Thus, he played an instrumental role in skittling out Australia at 236 after Mitchell Marsh decided to bat first. Srikkanth highlighted that Rana bowled impressively in the death overs, as he was able to hit the blockhole and also disguised the batters with slower balls.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Harshit Rana bowled superbly. Taking four wickets in an ODI is a big achievement. My favourite was the wicket of Owen. It was a superb delivery and Rohit took a great catch. He bowled a terrific line and length. Last match he got clobbered at the death but this game, he bowled very well even at the death. He didn’t bowl short today and didn’t try too many slower ones.”
Srikkanth said Rana must have grown in confidence after scoring 24 runs off just 18 balls in the second ODI of the series.
“So today Harshit Rana deserves all the praise. I am very happy for you. Yes, I criticized you a lot but at the end of the day, you’ve done very well. He has got his confidence back from the last match after scoring with the bat and from his first spell with the ball. The more he performs this way, his confidence will continue growing. Today he looked like a very confident bowler.”
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav was finally able to get a game and he replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy in the final XI. Srikkanth said it was a good decision to play with three spinners.
“It was a very good decision to play three spinners. But I didn’t understand why Axar Patel bowled only seven overs even today. Not sure why Prasidh Krishna was brought back to bowl with Axar not completing his ten overs.Washington Sundar was brilliant, especially his ability to bowl at one spot relentlessly. His wicket of Renshaw was crucial because he was batting well. He’s slowly becoming an all-format player. Axar, of course, as always, bowled well, just like Jadeja used to,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
India will now take on Australia in a five-match T20I series, starting Wednesday.
