Nitish Rana who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the absence of Shreyas Iyer throughout IPL 2023 has revealed that he “couldn’t sleep” in the lead-up to the house fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday (May 11). The southpaw additionally confessed that he was “anxious” earlier than the clash and felt like he was going to function in his first IPL sport.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) locked horns with one another in the sixtieth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR received by 18 runs and sealed a spot in the playoffs. Rana, who was returning to the taking part in XI from a finger damage after a spot of just about two months, made a major contribution to the staff’s win.
He scored 33 runs off 23 balls with the assistance of 4 boundaries and a six and offered solidity to the center order. Nitish shared a 37-run stand alongside Venkatesh Iyer for the fourth wicket.
He dispatched Hardik Pandya for a 4 and one six in the eighth over and was wanting in positive contact earlier than his keep in the center was reduce quick by Tilak Varma who ran him out.
After the 18-run win over MI, Rana opened up in the post-match convention and talked about that the staff administration helped him significantly in making a comeback into the taking part in XI.
“The credit goes to the team management. They showed immense belief in me by keeping me on the bench for 10 matches despite my injury. They perhaps knew I could make a positive impact later in the tournament. Luckily, my 33 runs were important on that stage because the ball was seaming and the wicket was helping the fast bowlers,” mentioned Rana.
“I was coming into a team that has been doing well, and coming back into such a big league match against MI and in what’s the last home game for your side. Plus it’s a reduced match. I slept around 8 am in the morning. I was so anxious, my heartbeat was fast, and I felt like I was going to play for the first time. But these are the things that keep you hungry and drive you to do better.”
