Watch: Gautam Gambhir goes berserk in ultra-aggressive celebration for Harshit Rana's maiden T20I wicket
Published - 31 Jan 2025, 10:34 PM | Updated - 31 Jan 2025, 11:40 PM
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India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir aggressively celebrated after the young pacer Harshit Rana bagged his maiden wicket in T20I cricket.
Harshit Rana made his T20I debut in the fourth game against the Three Lions at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune and impressed head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Also Read: Harshit Rana makes 'unique' T20I debut after replacing Shivam Dube as concussion substitute
Harshit Rana replaces Shivam Dube in the match
Rana was originally not named in India's playing XI for the match as the Men In Blue once again opted to go with one specialist pacer. Arshdeep Singh came in as a replacement for Mohammed Shami, who was left out of playing XI after one game.
However, Harshit Rana got the opportunity to play after he was chosen as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube. Notably, the all-rounder Dube received a nasty blow on his helmet while batting in the 20th over.
Jamie Overton bowled a nasty bouncer on the 5th ball of the over and Dube was hit on the helmet while playing a pull shot. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana became the first Indian to make his debut as a concussion substitute.
Making debut in a format as concussion substitute (FM teams)
Brian Mudzinganyama Test v SL Harare 2020
Neil Rock ODI v WI Kingston 2022
Khaya Zondo Test v Ban Gqeberha 2022
Matt Parkinson Test v NZ Lord's 2022
Kamran Ghulam ODI v NZ Karachi 2023
Bahir Shah Test v Ban Mirpur 2023
Harshit Rana T20I vs Eng Pune 2025
Rana made an immediate impact after getting the opportunity to play, as on the second ball of his first over, he bagged the key wicket of Liam Livingstone.
He bowled a 140.7kmph short-of-length delivery to Livingstone outside off-stump. The batter tried to play it towards the third man, but he only managed to get an outside edge, and the ball went straight into the hands of Sanju Samson.
As Harshit picked wicket, the camera panned towards head coach Gautam Gambhir, who looked quite pumped up in the dugout.
Watch: Gautam Gambhir's aggressive celebration after Harshit Rana bags wicket
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Who were the top performers for India in the previous T20I vs England?
Despite a crushing defeat, there were a few standout performances from India in the 3rd T20I against England in Rajkot.
Varun Chakravarthy was the star of the match and he earned the Player of the Match award as well for his sensational bowling despite ending up on the losing side. He picked up 5 wickets for just 24 runs in his 4-over spell to dismantle England's batting order.
He played a crucial role in restricting England to a total of 171/9 as he took key wickets of Jos Buttler, Jamie Overton, and Jamie Smith.
Hardik Pandya was another key performer for India, contributing both with the bat and the ball. He scored 40 runs off 35 balls in the chase, taking the game deep after early setbacks. Also, he bowled 4 overs, taking 2 wickets for 33 runs, including the crucial dismissal of Liam Livingstone.
The explosive opener Abhishek Sharma made a quickfire 24 off 14 balls, providing a strong start to India, but he couldn't carry on. All-rounder Axar Patel also made a handy contribution for his side in the match as he bagged one wicket and after coming in at no. 7, scored 15 runs. The hosts, however, couldn’t chase down the target and ultimately finished at 145/9.
