This was the first time that my parents came to watch my match: Harshit Rana
"I thought to myself that the worst that could happen was the match ending in that ball," said Rana.
When the opposition needed 13 runs in the final over, and Heinrich Klaasen was on strike with a 25-ball fifty, Shreyas Iyer showed faith in young Harshit Rana. Sunrisers Hyderabad were snowballing towards a victory and Kolkata Knight Riders were in dire need of a miracle as Rana stepped up to the occasion. He had already splurged 25 runs in three overs with a wicket to his name.
The 22-year-old was hit for a six on the very first ball of the final over by Klaasen. Later the pacer was in his element as he dismissed Shahbaz Ahmed and Klaasen in a span of three deliveries. As a result, KKR emerged victorious by four runs. Speaking after his match-winning performance, Rana shared that this was the first time his parents were in the stands and there were pre-emptive thoughts about performing under his parent's watchful eyes.
"This was the first time that my parents came to watch my match. Earlier, I used to think that when they watched my match, I would not perform well. This season, I was playing the first match, and I wanted to show them the match," Rana said in a video shared by IPL on their website.
"My heartbeats must have been very fast because of all the expectations of the fans and there weren't a lot of runs to defend. I thought to myself that the worst that could happen was the match ending in that ball. However, if I could execute my plans, the match would go deep," he added.
The more cricket I play, the stronger I'll get: Russell
Andre Russell played an angelic innings for KKR when their half of the batting arsenal was in the dug-out for just 123 runs. He started with utmost precision and nailed any loose ball that came in his arc. He hammered 64 runs in just 25 deliveries, with seven towering sixes and three boundaries. Russel, who also picked two wickets, said that one has to cut down on things and be ready to make sacrifices for a cause, hinting at bodily demands with age.
"Happy to be a part of wickets, and then scoring 60-odd runs off 20-odd balls. I would take that any day. A lot of hard work I've been doing over the last year. I realized that when you're getting older, you've to cut back on certain things and make sacrifices. I'm happy with how my body feels. I feel light. Less weight on my knees as well. The more cricket I play, the stronger I'll get and the leaner I'll get and the more meaner I'll perform," said Russel.
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