Rana’s rise gathers pace with ‘presence of mind’

Nahid Rana’s stars are rising as he continues to push his pace threshold. The six-foot-five fast bowler, wiry and full of fire, carried that surge into the Pakistan Super League (PSL) yesterday, helping Peshawar Zalmi clinch the title while impressing a legend of the game, Wasim Akram.

Rana took little time to make his presence felt at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, dismissing Hyderabad Kingsmen’s Glenn Maxwell with the first delivery of his second over, a short ball targeting the body of the explosive batter. The veteran Australian could only manage a mistimed pull, resulting in an easy catch at mid-on. Later, a rapid yorker saw the Bangladesh pace sensation dismantle Hunain Shah’s stumps.

In particular, it was the mixing and matching of lengths that Wasim talked about. “I have been following his performances recently,” the former Pakistan captain said on commentary. “He has good short deliveries and a very good bouncer, so he bowled those length deliveries to push the batter onto the back foot and then slipped in the fuller delivery.”

The fuller delivery, like the short ones, created surprise, with some deliveries striking the bat rather than the bat meeting it. “He showed that he has good presence of mind, which is important. He has a bright future ahead of him,” Wasim added.

Rana finished with figures of two for 22, setting the stage for a comfortable five-wicket win after Hyderabad were bundled out for 129. “I was able to do what the team expected of me, and that’s the biggest thing for me,” Rana told The Daily Star yesterday, adding that he is “ready for the Pakistan Test series” fitness-wise.

Barring a few players involved in the PSL final, Pakistan began their practice sessions at the Mirpur Academy Ground yesterday. Interestingly, just four days ahead of the first Test, the pitch wore a viper green colour. Although the grass will be trimmed before the match, a team management source indicated there would still be assistance for fast bowlers, similar to the recent ODIs against Pakistan.

On the back of 15 ODI wickets against Pakistan and New Zealand of late, including a five-wicket haul in each series, and nine wickets overall in the PSL, Rana will be licking his lips at the prospect of pace-friendly conditions.

However, his control of length has been the key. In the second ODI against New Zealand in the hostile Dhaka heat, he bowled 33 per cent short deliveries and 27 per cent on a good length. Team management sources claimed they were astounded by the accuracy of line and length.

“Tests and T20s are different propositions. I will try to stay within my process and do what I have been doing in Tests,” Rana said upon returning to Dhaka yesterday.

Peshawar’s Australian recruit Aaron Hardie had talked about Rana’s 151 kph deliveries being a disaster for batters and even joked that captain Babar Azam would not relish facing him in the nets ahead of Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh.

“I know he has got Test cricket in a week and Babar is not looking forward to facing him. There’s a friendly rivalry there,” Aaron had said.

With improved accuracy and growing tactical nous, Rana’s hostility is only set to heighten.