The most valuable aspect of the Indian Premier League (IPL) lies in the fact that a solid opportunity is presented for young Indian players, who can instantly leave a long lasting impression.
The encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians witnessed the making of a potential future star, in the form of Nitish Rana. The Delhi-based batsman played an absolute jaffa of a knock to get the Mumbai Indians back into the run chase out of nowhere.
Needing 179 to win the game, Mumbai got off to a decent start, but then tragedy struck, as one after the other, an array of dismal umpiring calls ruined the run-chase. In succession, Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma and Krunal Pandya were let off with terrible calls devastating the chase.
However, the young Nitish Rana then collaborated with Hardik Pandya to steal the game. Needing 30 to win off the last two overs, the hosts got home with a ball to spare.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir completely praised Rana and Pandya for their efforts.
“We put a good score on the board in the last three overs. But Hardik and Rana played an unbelievable inning. If we’d taken Hardik’s catch, anything might have happened. We back our bowlers to do the job. Woakes and Boult are experienced too. It’s just a matter of keeping our nerves calm. We panicked a little in the end with the misfield and the dropped catch,” he said.
Gambhir however, went on to add that there was no update about the injured Chris Lynn.
“There was a bit of dew on the ground that didn’t make it easy for spinners either, but we needed to hold our nerves in the end. I have no update on Lynn, haven’t heard from the physio yet,” the Kolkata Knight Riders captain said.