Sydney [Australia], October 25 : Indian pacer Harshit Rana, who secured a breakthrough spell of 4/39 during the third ODI against Australia at Sydney, said that he has been developing outswingers as a part of his skill set and picked his favourite wicket of the day.
Harshit, endlessly trolled on social media before this match for his push into Indian team across all formats in his early 20s, finally justified head coach Gautam Gambhir's trust in him with a four-wicket haul that restricted mighty Australians to 236, which was easily chased down by batting titans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. As a part of his spell, Rana got wickets of middle-order batters Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly and Mitchell Owen.
Speaking on JioStar's 'Cricket Live' programme, Rana said that he was not trying to attack, but was focusing more on his line, length and bowling in the right areas.
"I felt my bowling rhythm was much better today. In the beginning, I was not trying to attack; I was just trying to bowl in the right areas. I didn't get wickets early on, but that was part of my plan since I had the new ball. I was focused on line and length, and it worked. Talking about outswingers, that's something I have been developing, and I was happy to execute that well today," he said.
Harshit also picked the wicket of Owen for a single-digit score, where he handed an easy catch to Rohit Sharma in the slips as his favourite one. He also revealed that he did not want a fielder at slip initially, but Rohit asked him to let him go there, where Rohit took a great catch with his 'safe as a house' hands.
"The wicket of Mitch Owen was my favourite. There's a story behind it. Shubman Gill asked me if I wanted a slip, and I refused. Then Rohit bhai, who was standing at cover, told me, 'Slip le na, jaane de mereko (just take the slip, I will go and stand there). ' I agreed, and then in no time, the edge went straight to the slip to Rohit bhaiya! I was so thankful to him. He laughed and said, 'I told you to take the slip!' It was a memorable moment," he said.
Rana also said that he likes bowling in Australia, saying that he is familiar with conditions and coach Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel guided him on areas to target.
"The support staff was incredible too, they kept telling me to focus on my role and back my strengths. It is like a dream because so much has happened in the last one year. Making my debut in Australia last year and now getting my best figures here today, it's been a very emotional and special ride for me," he concluded.
Rana finished as the leading wicket-taker, with six wickets in three innings at an average of 20.83, with best figures earned here at Sydney.