Rana could have made his debut in a T20I series against Bangladesh last month but contracted a viral fever. “It was very difficult for me,” Rana said after the day’s game. “But like I said, Gauti [coach Gautam Gambhir] bhaiyya would keep telling me to wait for my time and when it comes, I must do my best for the country. And I talk to my dad before every game and he tells me that the day God planned for you to play, you will play. Don’t worry too much.”
“I had seen this [Australia vs India] just on TV, waking up early and watching it with my father. So that’s a big deal for me.”
Rana was a crucial member of the KKR team that won the IPL earlier this year. He looked like he was made for white-ball cricket with his variations in pace. But India’s red-ball team saw something in him, potentially during the match simulation against India A at the WACA, where he showed a willingness to hit the deck hard and bowl sharp, accurate spells.
Rana managed to maintain this form against Australia in Perth and took three wickets in the first innings to help bowl Australia out for 104 and give India a 46-run lead. His first wicket was Travis Head and it came off a beautiful delivery, leaning around the wicket and holding his line to hit the outside edge of the bat and scrape the outside edge of the stump.
“Personally, I am very happy with my performance and even happier with the team’s performance,” said Rana. “If you talk about that wicket especially, there was a discussion in the team about setting him up and dismissing him. The plan was to attack his stumps, and I bowled a good ball and got a wicket.
“We have an extra boost when we come here and play on these wickets, but we have to make sure we don’t get carried away. If we focus on bowling those good lines and lengths, that will help us. So that was the focus, to not get carried away .”
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