Nitish Rana recalls dismissing Virat Kohli & ABD off successive deliveries in IPL 2018

Nitish Rana recalled a priceless moment when he had dismissed the world-class batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers off successive deliveries during a league match between the two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders and three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2018. 

It so happened that Kohli & ABD had taken the KKR bowlers to the cleaners as the duo added 64-runs for the third-wicket stand and were taking RCB to a formidable total. In a rather surprising move, skipper Dinesh Karthik decided to introduce Nitish Rana into the attack in the 14th over of the first innings i.e. at a time when the batsmen are looking to go berserk in the middle overs. It paid off well as 'Mr. 360' mistimed a pull shot and was caught by Mitchell Johnson at deep mid-wicket and on the very next delivery, Rana castled the Bangalore skipper to put the Challengers in a spot of bother. 

'When I dismissed Virat and AB': Nitish Rana

“When I dismissed Virat and AB in the same over and I scored around 30 runs; however, unfortunately, I played a wrong shot and got out. Dinesh Karthik spoke to me and told that if you want to become a huge player, you have to learn to finish games. However, that knock was essential for me since it was challenging to settle down to one team from another,” said Rana while speaking on KKR's official website.

 

The middle-order batsman also made an impact with the bat as he scored 34 runs. His knock was indeed an impactful one as the Knights got over the line by four wickets in the final over of the contest.

The Delhi cricketer has been roped in by the Kolkata franchise for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. 

KKR in IPL 2020

The Knights will be hoping to win their third IPL crown in the 13th edition of the cash-rich tournament that will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. The KKR players have already reached the Gulf for participating in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. The Dinesh Karthik-led side are staying at The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal.

Karthik on the other hand will be leading the two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders in the 13th edition of the cash-rich tournament. He was last seen in action during the heartbreaking World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand at Manchester and has not been in the Indian team management's scheme of things since then. He will be hoping to make his bat do the talking as well as showcase some extraordinary performances behind the stumps and eye a comeback in the shortest format for Team India as the countdown to the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 begins.

(Image Courtesy: BCCI)

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