[Watch] Shah Rukh Khan mimicks Harshit Rana's infamous flying kiss after KKR's IPL 2024 title-clinching win
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan was at his cheeky best after his side clinched their third IPL title with a thumping eight-wicket win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai on Sunday, May 26. The Bollywood star imitated KKR pacer Harshit Rana's controversial flying kiss to the camera after a warm embrace with him.
Rana was slammed by fans and experts for his flying-kiss celebrations after dismissing a batter, starting with SRH's Mayank Agarwal in KKR's season opener. It led to the 22-year-old being banned for one game during the season.
Here is the video of Shah Rukh hugging Rana after KKR's title-clinching win and blowing a flying kiss in the direction of the camera:
Amidst the controversy stirred by his exaggerated celebrations, Rana was the find of the season for KKR. The youngster bowled with terrific skills and variations at different stages of the innings, finishing with 19 wickets at an average of 20.15 in 13 outings.
Rana was at his best in the grand finale against SRH, dismissing the dangerous duo of Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen. He finished with outstanding figures of 2/24 in four overs, as KKR restricted SRH to a paltry total of 113.
"He seems pretty confident in his abilities" - Mitchell Starc on Harshit Rana
KKR pacer Mitchell Starc praised teammate Harshit Rana for having confidence in his abilities to bowl the hardest overs of the innings. Despite being a part of KKR from 2022, Rana had limited opportunities until his breakthrough this year.
After the triumph in the final, Starc was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo:
"He's (Rana) learning his skills or he's learning what his skills are capable of this IPL. I obviously didn't know him beforehand. So, he seems pretty confident in his abilities. He started the season having had to close out a game against the second-best team in the tournament. He's bowled some tough overs and he's had to bowl the last overs in some games and he's taken a good amount of wickets throughout."
With Starc struggling for form until the playoffs, Rana spearheaded the KKR pace attack with his bag of tricks and relentless aggression.
His 19 wickets were joint-fourth most in IPL 2024 behind only Harshal Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah.