"The man who set it up for Rohit and Kohli was actually Harshit Rana" - Former India bowler lauds seamer's spell in AUS vs IND 2025 3rd ODI

Former India bowler Varun Aaron has lauded Harshit Rana for delivering a match-defining spell in the third ODI against Australia. He noted that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's match-winning partnership later in the day overshadowed the pacer's performance.

Harshit registered figures of 4/39 in 8.4 overs as India bowled Australia out for 236 in Sydney on Saturday, October 25. Rohit (121* off 125) and Kohli (74* off 81) then stitched together an unbroken 168-run second-wicket partnership to help the visitors achieve the target with nine wickets and 69 deliveries to spare.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues,' Aaron was asked about his thoughts on Harshit's spell.

"First of all, his performance has gone completely under the radar because everybody wanted a RoKo show. They got a Roko show, but the man who set it up for Rohit and Kohli was actually Harshit Rana. On a wicket that was not helpful for the bowlers, he bowled a very, very good spell," he responded.

The newly appointed SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach noted that Harshit bowled an excellent line and length and repaid the team management's faith in him.

"We saw a lot of nuance from Harshit. He got the ball to go out. He bowled really good slower balls, and then backed it up with very good line and length. Again, somebody who is learning. The team management has really backed him, and he is coming good," Aaron observed.

Harshit Rana had Alex Carey (24 off 37) brilliantly caught by Shreyas Iyer to break a 59-run fourth-wicket partnership. He subsequently dismissed Mitchell Owen (1 off 4), Cooper Connolly (23 off 34) and Josh Hazlewood (0 off 2) to complete his four-wicket haul.

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"Going forward, Harshit Rana will become an extremely crucial player for you" - Parthiv Patel praises seamer's spell in AUS vs IND 2025 3rd ODI

Harshit Rana's 4/39 in the third ODI against Australia are his best figures in ODIs. [P/C: Getty]

Speaking on 'Follow the Blues,' former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel opined that Harshit Rana could become a vital player for the Men in Blue.

"Going forward, Harshit Rana will become an extremely crucial player for you. He is a bowler in any case, but he also gives you a batting option at No. 8, which we saw in the last match. We saw rhythm today (Saturday). He was bowling with the old ball and getting the batter out at slip. He was consistently bowling at a speed of 140 kph," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator lauded head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill for playing the seamer in three consecutive games.

"You need to show different skills. He dismissed a batter with a yorker as well. In the last one or two years, Harshit used to play one match and then sit out, but the good thing Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill did was to give him a chance to play three consecutive matches, and you could see the confidence and rhythm in the third match," Parthiv observed.

Apart from Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar (2/44) was the only Indian bowler to take more than a wicket in Saturday's game. Mohammed Siraj (1/24), Prasidh Krishna (1/52), Kuldeep Yadav (1/50) and Axar Patel (1/18) accounted for the other four dismissals.