Sachin Tendulkar hailed KKR's Nitish Rana and KXIP's Mandeep Singh for representing their respective sides on Saturday despite facing personal tragedies.
In the Indian Premier League on Saturday, two Indian cricketers -- Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Mandeep Singh (Kings XI Punjab) fought to overcome personal tragedies to take the field for their respective sides.
Rana had lost his father-in-law Surinder Marwah to cancer on October 23, while Mandeep Singh's father passed away after a prolonged illness.
KKR's Rana scored an important half-century, and eventually scored 81 while opening the batting for the side against Delhi Capitals, as KKR registered a much-needed win (by 59 runs) to stay in the race for top-4 finish.
Mandeep, too, opened the batting for KXIP and scored a valuable 17-run knock in a low-scoring game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar lauded the duo for showing immense mental strength to take the field despite enduring personal losses.q
Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar wrote, "Loss of a loved one hurts, but what’s more heartbreaking is when one doesn’t get to say a final goodbye. Praying for @mandeeps12, @NitishRana_27 and their families to heal from this tragedy. Hats off for turning up today. Well played."
Kings XI Punjab, too, made an incredible comeback against SRH as they successfully defended the 127-run target, winning the match by 12 runs.
With their respective wins, KKR, with 12 points, remain at fourth position in the table while KXIP continue to put pressure on the Knight Riders, closely following them at fifth place with 10 points.
The two sides will face each other in their next game on Monday (October 26) in Sharjah.
