The third ODI between Australia and India in Sydney witnessed an inspiring turnaround from young pacer Harshit Rana, who delivered a match-winning spell under pressure. After disappointing performances in the first two matches, the 23-year-old finally silenced his critics with figures of 4 for 39 in 8.4 overs, helping India bowl out Australia for 236 and clinch a nine-wicket victory.
Gambhir’s Tough Love Sparks Harshit Rana’s Comeback
However, Rana’s comeback was fueled by a fiery exchange with head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the match. Both were facing criticism — Rana for his poor form and Gambhir for allegedly favoring the bowler due to their past association at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Former cricketers and fans questioned Rana’s place in the XI, with some accusing the coach of bias.
According to Rana’s childhood coach, Sharvan, the pacer was under immense mental pressure but used Gambhir’s tough words as motivation.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇,” 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅. “𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 — ‘𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒌𝒂𝒓, 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒂’ (𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎, 𝒐𝒓 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖). 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆.”
Sharvan Defends Rana, Criticizes Harsh Public Scrutiny
Sharvan further praised Gambhir for his strong mentoring style and eye for raw talent, emphasizing that tough love can bring the best out of players. He urged critics to show patience with young cricketers like Rana, who are still finding their footing at the international level.
“𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 23. 𝑳𝒆𝒕’𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆,” 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙-𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝑻𝒖𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒂 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.”
Rana’s standout performance not only earned India a consolation win in the series but also made him the leading wicket-taker, finishing with six wickets at an average of 20.83. His resurgence stands as proof of Gambhir’s uncompromising approach and his belief in nurturing fearless cricketers.
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