1 week Ago
Trust Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana to spice things up on the cricket field with his fast-bowling skills or animated gestures after getting a batter out. It was a combination of both on Tuesday (April 8) against the Lucknow Super Giants. Harshit Rana signalled LSG batter Aiden Markram to leave the ground in a dramatic send-off after clean-bowling him, halting a blazing opening stand by Markram and Mitchell Marsh.
KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to bowl first backfired spectacularly as the LSG openers unleashed a torrent of runs, only for Rana to inject life into the defending champions’ fightback. Markram and Marsh walked out with intent after Rahane won the toss on a fresh Eden Gardens pitch, which was expected to favour slower bowlers later. The duo wasted no time, stitching together a scintillating 99-run partnership in just 11 overs.
Marsh, in red-hot form with three fifties already this season, played the aggressor, smashing 58 off 33 balls, including two towering sixes and six boundaries. Markram complemented him with a composed yet destructive 47 off 28 deliveries, peppering the boundary with four fours and two sixes. Their assault left KKR’s bowlers, including Spencer Johnson and Vaibhav Arora, scrambling for answers, with the scoreboard racing to 99/0 by the 11th over.
Harshit Rana gives fiery send-off to Aiden Markram The crowd, buzzing with anticipation, was silenced when Harshit Rana, KKR’s young pacer, turned the tide. Bowling a deceptive slower ball in the 11th over, Rana breached Markram’s defences, uprooting his stumps as the South African attempted an ambitious lofted shot. What followed was pure theatre—Rana, brimming with adrenaline, gave Markram a fiery send-off, pointing him towards the dugout with a glare that echoed his intensity.
The moment sparked a roar from the KKR faithful, desperate for a breakthrough after the openers’ onslaught. Before his dismissal, Markram’s partnership with Marsh had put LSG in a commanding position. Marsh, unfazed by the loss, continued his carnage, reaching his fourth fifty of the season shortly after.
His brutal hitting, especially against Sunil Narine—whom he smashed for a 97-meter six—highlighted his dominance. By the 13th over, LSG were 138/1, with Nicholas Pooran joining Marsh to keep the momentum alive. Rana’s strike, however, offered KKR a glimmer of hope.
The 23-year-old, known for his fiery temperament, finished with figures that reflected his impact, though his economy took a hit earlier. For LSG, the early fireworks from Markram and Marsh set the stage for a daunting total, leaving KKR with a steep chase under the Kolkata sun. As the match unfolded, Rana’s send-off remained the talking point, encapsulating the high stakes and raw passion of IPL 2025.
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