Thursday night was a difficult one for Harshit Rana. Having been told about his imminent Test debut, the Delhi speedster tossed and turned as excitement and nerves equally kept him awake for a long time. But when he did turn up in the India whites on Friday here at the Optus Stadium, it became the turn of the Aussie batters to have sleepless nights.
Travis Head, his first Test wicket, was the result of an incredible delivery that angled in and straightened just a shade to clip off-stump. “The idea was to attack the stumps and I got the wicket. In the team-meeting we had made some plans and I stuck to it,” Harshit told the media on Saturday. And as for an inkling about his debut? “I got to know on the previous day of the Test and I did cry after making a speech in the meeting,” he said.
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The first Test’s second day witnessed some drama on Saturday. And it centred on some banter between Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana, which the latter said was done with a sense of humour. “We are very good friends and in the IPL I play with him, so I have a very good bonding with him. This keeps happening, it is nothing major, we just exchanged a few words,” Harshit said.
The 22-year-old India pacer praised the leadership skills of Jasprit Bumrah and also the batting effort of Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul. “Once Bumrah bhai bowled like that, it also inspires you to do the same and you are bound to get wickets. Rahul and Jaiswal worked extremely hard on this pitch and it inspired all of us,” Harshit said.
Still in awe over his Test debut, Harshit quipped: “This is a big dream for me, to play for India. Six years ago, my father and I used to wake up early to watch cricket in Australia through television and now I am here, this is huge for me. The camp before this match really helped me adjust to the conditions.”
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