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IPL 2021: Playing spin is in my blood says Nitish Rana after match-winning performance

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It was a perfect start for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their Vivo IPL 14 campaign as they eased past Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs on the back of some exceptional batting from Nitish Rana and a good bowling effort by the majority of the bowlers. Rana scored a magnificent 80 of just 56 deliveries which were studded with 9 fours and 4 sixes. He looked in ominous touch and it was his brilliant knock that set the foundation for a big score of 187 runs. A total of 187 on that surface was always going to be a tough task for the opposition. 

The southpaw won the Man of the Match Award for his knock and revealed that he just backed his instincts and it came out well today. Opening the innings with Shubman Gill, the duo shared a 52 runs stand before the dismissal of Gill but Rana continued and started taking the SRH bowlers part. He was eventually dismissed by Mohammad Nabi in the 18th over but by then he had laid a foundation for a big score. 

The start was quite dramatic as Rana smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a boundary through the cover region in the very first ball of the match. He wasn’t to the pitch of the ball but let his hands do the talking. Relieving his knock at the post-match presentation ceremony, Rana said that he tried to hit boundaries whenever he got an opportunity. 

“I thought the ball was in my slot so I went for it and luckily got four off my first ball. In my mind there's only one thing: play my shots if the ball is there. I was backing myself and looking to hit balls. I’ve been playing spin since childhood, so in a way, it’s in my blood,” said Rana. 

KKR won the opening encounter quite convincingly in the end by 10 runs. A good partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey wasn’t enough as the KKR bowlers held their nerves and bagged wickets at crucial junctures of the match which didn’t allow SRH to chase the target down. Manish Pandey stayed there till the end but didn’t manage to get his side over the finishing line. 

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