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Nitish Rana revealed that he was unwell and missed the practice session ahead of RR’s game against CSK, but a phone call from Rahul Dravid gave him the big boost, which saw him deliver a match-winning knock.
Rahul Dravid had called to inform Nitish Rana that he would be batting at 3 in the RR vs CSK match. (Image: Sportzpics)
The Rajasthan Royals‘ (RR) Nitish Rana provided the game-changing knock with the bat as his 36-ball 81 helped RR set a big enough target, which they went on to defend and take their first win in the game against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday.
Following the match, the southpaw revealed that he was unwell, which forced him to miss practice but a call from the Head Coach, Rahul Dravid saw him get a big motivation considering that the side had opted to push him up to bat at number three. The responsibility of taking up this role pushed him to deliver his best knock for the Royals and hopes to continue this form for the following games as well.
“High pressure is there in all 14 games since this is the number one league in the world. And as a batsman, as a player, that pressure is always there whether you are coming after a win or a loss. Those 2 points were very important. We should’ve had those points from the very start, but that’s okay. There were a lot of positives from the last 2 games, and we learnt a lot from those games, and we could implement those things and take those two points,” he mentioned in a video uploaded by the Rajasthan Royals on their official Instagram handle.
“Yesterday, Rahul sir called me and I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t go for practice. He called me to tell me that I will be batting at number 3. And I am always ready for these challenges. I enjoy the feeling when someone banks on me and shows confidence and I like taking responsibility,” he added.
After not being able to deliver in the first two games of the season, Rana aimed to rework his game to suit what the team needed and the preparations certainly gave him the edge against CSK as the Royals were back in front in the first innings.
“So when he said that, I spoke to myself about the kind of shots I can play on this wicket that would help my team. And when it’s your time to make runs, you’ll make runs. I was trying to make runs in the first two games, but the truth of the matter is that when you come with your game plan, it gives you the edge when you visualise or analyse the game the day before, which helps a lot,” he commented.
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