Rana credits Gambhir, Bumrah for his dream debut

The debutants for India have impressed in their first outing in Perth. While Nitish Kumar Reddy top scored for India in the first innings where his vital 41 helped his team gain a 46-run lead, Harshit Rana took three wickets with the ball. The second-highest wicket-taker in India’s effort of bowling out Australia for 46, the right-arm seamer picked 3/48. 

Rana dismissed Travis Head in his third over to pouch his first Test wicket. Later, he snapped Nathan Lyon early morning and then broke the 110-ball long 10th wicket stand between Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, thus picking important wickets for India. 

“Very happy with my performance. Even more happy with the performance of the team,” Rana said talking to the press after stumps on Day 2. 

“If you talk about that wicket, it was based on the team’s plans on how to set up a batter. [With Head], it was about attacking the stumps. That ball came out well and we got the wicket,” Rana spoke on nabbing his first Test victim, Travis Head. 

Rana conceded two boundaries to Head in his second over. However, he came back strongly, surprisingly the left-hander with a full ball angling in towards his off stump from around the wicket. Head ended up with his feet stuck at the crease and was beaten on the outside edge to be cleaned up for 11. 

Rana was told that he will be making his debut in Perth on the eve of the Test match. However, he had been with the side for a while now, ever since a good Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024. Rana picked 19 wickets in 11 innings at an economy of 9.1 in a high-scoring season in the third title win for the franchise. With Gautam Gambhir, the mentor, leveling up to become India’s head coach, Rana too came on the selector’s radar when Gambhir began his stint in Sri Lanka. He was in line to make his debut in the home T20Is against Bangladesh but went down with viral fever. 

Rana credited Gambhir for keeping him positive during these times on the sidelines. "It was very difficult for me. But as I said, Gauti [Gambhir] bhaiyya would keep telling me to wait for my time and when it comes, I should do my best for the country,” Rana said.

“And I speak to my dad before every match day and he would tell me that the day God has planned for you to play, you will play. Don't worry too much. I had seen this [Australia vs India] only on TV, waking up early and watching with my dad. So this is a huge deal for me,” he added about his debut.

Rana also spoke on how the skipper Jasprit Bumrah influenced him in his first outing in an India shirt. Bumrah, especially, set the template for the Indian seamers in the first innings where he picked 5/30. From the other end of his furious first spell, Bumrah employed Rana only after three overs of Mohammed Siraj upfront. By the point Rana came to bowl, India were forcing their way into the Test match with Australia on 19/3 in seven overs. 

“I was making his debut. So the kind of setup he created for me, I was quite calm. If someone gives you such a start, like Jassi bhaiyya always does, it becomes easier from the other end.

It creates an atmosphere where everyone is very charged up. Everyone starts thinking 'if he is doing it, we will too'. So that was a big thing that they were three wickets down when I came on to bowl. And I thought that I should also get some wickets because the faster they are bowled out, the better for us,” he said. 

In the first session on Day 2, Rana had a playful banter against his KKR teammate, Mitchell Starc. The southpaw was heard on the stump mic saying, “I bowl faster than you, Harshit. I have a long memory,” with a smile on his face after defending one delivery back to him. Rana smiled back and walked back as if he had lost a bowling speed competition in the KKR nets in IPL 2024. 

“He [Starc] is a very good friend of mine. We have a great bond from our KKR playing days. These things are just for fun. Just some words were exchanged,” the 22-year-old concluded. 

India have made an authoritative comeback in this Test match. After the seamers bulldozed Australia’s first innings for 104, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted through the remaining two sessions of play. 172/0 at stumps, India lead by over 200 runs with all 10 wickets in hand. 

Rana reckons the pitch got easier to bat but after this start, India are not looking at a target yet. They will just bat big. 

“The wicket was better for batting today. When they were batting in the morning, we also had a few problems [taking the last few wickets]. But now we are not looking at a target. We are just going to bat now,” he said. 

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