Harshit Rana holds nerve to play crucial role on ODI debut

NAGPUR: When Harshit Rana took the field in Nagpur for his ODI debut, he was dragging the echoes of controversy behind him. Having come in as a contentious concussion substitute in place of Shivam Dube in the fourth T20I, there was a lot of talk about whether India had been lucky to get away with the decision to replace a batting allrounder with a full-time fast bowler.

The subtle jabs from England captain Jos Buttler didn’t help matters. On Thursday, the 23-year-old Delhi pacer hushed the noise.

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His fiery 3-53 kept England below 250 and ensured an emphatic victory for India in the first ODI in Nagpur. "People will always talk," Rana said. "I just want to play. I’m not bothered, I want to deliver for my country."




Rana’s ODI debut had its ups and downs. The first storm hit early. His KKR teammate Phil Salt teed off in a brutal 26-run over, hitting three sixes and two fours. But Rana, unshaken, dismissed Ben Duckett and Harry Brook in a crucial over that swung the match.

"There are always ups and downs in cricket. I wanted to focus on my lengths, bowl where I have to and I got reward for that later. In my second spell, I just focused on hitting the right areas," Rana said, adding: "It’s a long format. You have to play different roles in different phases."