Harshit Rana made his T20I debut in rather unusual circumstances, becoming the first Indian cricketer to play his first international match in this format as a concussion substitute. Rana, who was not originally a part of India's playing XI for the fourth T20I against England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, came into the side as a concussion substitute for all-rounder Shivam Dube.
Whether he was a like-for-like replacement, as the laws demand a concussion substitute to be, was debatable but Harshit left an impression on the match for sure. He picked up three wickets for 33 runs in his four overs as India won by 15 runs to take the series 3-1.
Dube, who himself was playing his first match of the series, replacing Washington Sundar in the XI, smashed 53 off 34 balls to help India reach 181/9 in their allotted 20 overs. The lanky left-hander, who coped with a few body blows early into his innings courtesy of some hostile bowling from England fast bowler Jofra Archer, was hit on the helmet by a Jamie Overton bouncer on the penultimate ball of the Indian innings.
Dube was run out while coming back for a second run on the last ball of the over and did not come out to the field. The medical team was looking after him. Ramandeep Singh was in the field for the first six overs.
{{/usCountry}}Dube was run out while coming back for a second run on the last ball of the over and did not come out to the field. The medical team was looking after him. Ramandeep Singh was in the field for the first six overs.
{{/usCountry}}Rana, meanwhile, came in as the substitute after the powerplay. The official confirmation for the same came a couple of overs later. "Harshit Rana is the concussion substitute for Shivam Dube," the BCCI said.
By then Rana had already left a mark on the match by taking a sharp catch off Ravi Bishnoi's bowling that saw the back of England captain Jos Buttler.
Rana was introduced to the attack in the 12th over, and he was successful as early as the second ball of his spell. Liam Livingstone got an outside edge to keeper Sanju Samson.
Rana bowled the high-pressure 19th over when England needed 25 runs. He got the all-important wicket of Jamie Overton in the last ball and gave away only six runs in the over. In between, Harshit also accounted for Jacob Bethell in the 16th over.
Rana made his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and played the first two Tests.
Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube power India to 181/9
Earlier, Coming in at No. 7, Pandya was stylish and destructive in equal measure hitting four boundaries and an equal number of maximums in his 30-ball-53.
Dube (53 off 34 balls) also didn't do too badly in a stand of 87 off 48 balls for the sixth wicket after pacer Saqib Mahmood (3/35 in 4 overs) reduced India to 12 for 3 by the end of second over.
Dube was coming back into national colours after bagging a pair in a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir last week.
But Pandya, who many feel can take MS Dhoni's role as a finisher, began with an aggressive approach, then rotated the strike for a few overs before launching a brutal final assault on the English bowlers. However, his innings was cut short by one shot too many.
He got an able ally in Dube, who hit seven fours and two sixes as India got as many as 109 runs in the back-10.
Mahmood, playing his first game of the series, struck thrice in his first over and all three were well-planned dismissals.