Nitish Rana wore a smug smile at the end of day 2’s proceedings at the Wankhede stadium against Mumbai on Saturday. On a day his former team Delhi suffered yet another top-order collapse in the Ranji trophy; Rana, now Uttar Pradesh captain, bossed the day’s action with his fluent hundred 106 (120b, 12x4, 5x6) to hand his team a crucial 126-run first innings lead.
This was the left-hander's seventh first-class hundred, but first for UP after having made the switch from Delhi. Moving in as captain, Rana may have come carrying a reputation, but a lot of it came from white-ball cricket (he led Kolkata Knight Riders, last year).
“During the Covid years, when the IPL was held in two phases, I had stopped focusing on red-ball cricket a little bit. So that set me back somewhat. This year I have worked very hard with the red-ball because I wanted to prove, not to anyone else, but to myself, that I can be a good red-ball player,” he said after the day’s play.
Although he played three white-ball matches (1 ODI and 2 T2OI) in India colours, Rana’s years in red-ball cricket for Delhi were far from fulfilling. Rana allowed a peek into his mind, of how he wasn’t at peace. “It was my mistake that (briefly) I wasn't focusing on red-ball cricket. A lot of people had started talking that I wasn't a red-ball player...I would not have had to listen to that talk. From the time I switched from Delhi, my target has been to make my name in red-ball cricket again,” he said.
Delhi, meanwhile, are enduring one of their worst ever seasons. They have had a captain changed first match into the season, the vice-captain was benched and are languishing at the bottom of the points table. “It was in my mind that the dressing room atmosphere in Delhi was not good for my career. I felt that a change was necessary,” he said. “I have always looked at UP as an elite team and I have known all my teammates here for many years. I have luckily got a team where I am getting respect,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi, meanwhile, are enduring one of their worst ever seasons. They have had a captain changed first match into the season, the vice-captain was benched and are languishing at the bottom of the points table. “It was in my mind that the dressing room atmosphere in Delhi was not good for my career. I felt that a change was necessary,” he said. “I have always looked at UP as an elite team and I have known all my teammates here for many years. I have luckily got a team where I am getting respect,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}When Rana walked out to bat, UP were 153/5, still 45 runs behind Mumbai’s first innings 198, and desperately searching for an outright win, having lost chances to score full points from early matches due to bad weather. From then, Rana dominated a 137-run partnership with Akash Deep Nath (41) to wrest control of the game.
“I won't call this a big knock. A big knock is 250-300. But I had lost the habit of scoring hundreds. I am getting that back. I feel a big one is round the corner, this season,” he said.