Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) part-time off-spinner Nitish Rana turned heads with his two wickets off successive deliveries to get rid of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batsmen A.B.de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli in their Indian Premier League (IPL) opener on Sunday.
His two scalps in the 15th over on Sunday proved vital for KKR as RCB set them a target of 177, which Sunil Narine, with his 19-ball 50, made light of and later skipper Dinesh Karthik (35 not out) ensured they register a comfortable four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
But in the 15th over when Rana was asked to bowl, De Villiers was in full tilt and with Kohli playing second fiddle at the other end, RCB looked set for a big total after being asked to bat first at the Eden Gardens here.
Rana was tonked for a six by the South African star on the first ball before he got his and Kohli’s back in the next two deliveries.
“I had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. I saw the ball was gripping well, if I bowled in right areas I might get wickets.
“I backed myself and luckily I got the two big wickets. It was very important to get those batsmen out at that stage,” Rana told reporters at the post-match press conference.
“I bowl at domestic level for Delhi. I bowled well in the practice matches here and did well and then Dinesh bhai told me to get ready, you could bowl one or two overs in any match.
“Luckily got a chance and proved myself,” Rana added when asked about his lesser known bowling skills.
With the bat, Rana scored a vital 25-ball 34 coming in at No. 4 to help the hosts register a four-wicket win.
“My job is to score runs. I don’t see that as pressure. It’s good that people are expecting more from me having done well last season. I love to bat under pressure, you are aware of the situations around you,” Rana signed off.
“The turning point was Narine’s innings. If you get a good start like that in the first six overs, half the job is done. There was not much left for others to do once Narine batted like that,” Mandeep Singh of RCB said later.
“We lost two big players in crucial junctures and off successive deliveries. We were maybe 10-15 runs short,” Mandeep said.
“I think it was a decent and fighting total. But had we scored 15-20 more, it would have been tougher for the opposition,” the former Kings XI Punjab player added.
