"Showed that you're here to fight and win" - Harbhajan Singh lauds KKR skipper Nitish Rana for onslaught against SRH in IPL 2023
Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh hailed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana for his sensational knock against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing 229 runs to win, Nitish Rana walked out to bat when the hosts were 20/3. But then, the southpaw smashed 28 runs in an over off SRH speedster Umran Malik and that gave the KKR innings some much-needed impetus.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about Nitish Rana's gutsy fightback:
"Nitish walked out to bat when KKR had already lost three wickets in the powerplay. But the way he counter-attacked Umran Malik showed just how you lead by example and showed that you're here to fight and win. That was a simply incredible knock from the captain."
Harbhajan also heaped praise on Rinku Singh, who scored yet another half-century and ensured that his partnership with captain Rana kept Kolkata in the chase. He added:
"Rinku Singh's partnership with Nitish Rana kept KKR in the chase. Even though there were a lot of runs to chase, one still felt they had an outside chance. Rinku couldn't replicate his heroics with 32 needed off the last over. Certain things happen only once in a while and what Rinku achieved was extraordinary."
If KKR play like this, it will be difficult to stop them: Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh shed light on how well KKR have competed in all their games so far, scoring more than 200 runs in three back-to-back occasions despite their biggest superstar in Andre Russell not firing.
On this, Harbhajan stated:
"KKR should be proud of their efforts because they are playing some good cricket. Imagine that Andre Russell has not yet started to fire so what will happen once he fires. If KKR play to their potential, it will be difficult to stop this team."
KKR will now head to the Wankede Stadium where they will face the Mumbai Indians on Sunday.