Nitish Rana who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the absence of Shreyas Iyer during IPL 2023 has revealed that he "couldn't sleep" in the lead-up to the home fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday (May 11). The southpaw also confessed that he was "anxious" before the clash and felt like he was going to feature in his first IPL game.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) locked horns with each other in the 60th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR won by 18 runs and sealed a place in the playoffs. Rana, who was returning to the playing XI from a finger injury after a gap of almost two months, made a significant contribution to the team's win.
He scored 33 runs off 23 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six and provided solidity to the middle order. Nitish shared a 37-run stand alongside Venkatesh Iyer for the fourth wicket.
He dispatched Hardik Pandya for a four and one six in the eighth over and was looking in fine touch before his stay in the middle was cut short by Tilak Varma who ran him out.
After the 18-run win over MI, Rana opened up in the post-match conference and mentioned that the team management helped him greatly in making a comeback into the playing 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," said 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."
