AUS vs IND 2025: "It's just about getting the length right" - Legendary pacer analyses under-fire Harshit Rana's bowling in first ODI

Published - 19 Oct 2025, 20:03 IST | Updated - 19 Oct 2025, 20:38 IST

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan explained why Harshit Rana didn't have a memorable outing with the ball against Australia in the first ODI at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. India lost by seven wickets, failing to defend a DLS-revised target of 131 runs in 26 overs in the rain-curtailed clash.

A section of the cricket fraternity has been critical of Rana's selection in India's squads for the white-ball tour of Australia. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir defended the 23-year-old after India's 2-0 clean sweep over the West Indies in the recently-concluded home Test series earlier this month.

On Sunday, Rana had a great opportunity to silence his critics. However, he failed to hit his straps, giving away 27 runs in his four overs and going wicketless. He was also dismissed for one run off two balls in the first innings, failing to give support to Nitish Kumar Reddy in the fag end of India's innings.

The legendary Zaheer opined that Harshit is a hit-the-deck bowler, but he bowled a few deliveries on the fuller side on Sunday. Zaheer noted that despite bowling good deliveries, it hasn't translated into wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders' speedster.

"I think Harshit Rana is a hit the deck kind of a bowler. Certain deliveries he bowled today were fuller. It's just about getting the length right. It will help to create those wicket-taking opportunities. He is bowling good deliveries but those are not resulting in wickets. The moment you convert it, your confidence and approach will change," Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.

Defending 131 runs in 26 overs against a strong and flamboyant Australian batting lineup was always going to be tough. However, Zaheer was impressed with the intent shown by the Indian bowling department.

"I was happy with the intent. You've got to judge your defense on the basis of that. Arshdeep provided an early breakthrough. When you are defending a below-par total you can get desperate for wickets but it is a good sign. And in that process you are going to falter a bit. You will leak runs because you are looking to create opportunities. I liked the intent from all the bowlers. The body language was also right up there."

Zaheer mentioned that Shubman Gill did everything he could on his ODI captaincy debut. The 47-year-old believes that the presence of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will help the Punjab batter ease into his new role.

"I think he's done everything he can. He started with a loss in his Test captaincy and then made an impact. He is starting ODIs in similar fashion. I think he's got a long way to go. Rohit and Virat are both there so it will be a help for him," he said.

Ex-IND opener's gives views on Rohit, Kohli's Perth failures

Zaheer said that India were unlucky because of the frequent rain breaks during their batting essay. He feels that the Men in Blue couldn't assess what a good score could be on the track, as each rain break reduced the number of overs in the contest.

"There were a lot of stoppages. India could not get the rhythm going. They did not really get the opportunity of knowing the number of overs to build the innings. Every time there is a stoppage you have to realign to the variables. For Australia it was very simple when they went into bat. It was a serious advantage. You can still take learnings from such a game. How they can start at the top. You have to score runs in Australia. One wicket at the top was never going to create the scenario for Australia to feel the pressure," he added.