The camaraderie between India and Australia players is quite rare to see when they are on the field taking on each other but their increased participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) seems to be changing that tradition. Debutant Harshit Rana and Mitchell Starc shared a heartwarming moment in the heat of the battle on day two of the ongoing Perth Test.
Rana bowled a short delivery to Starc and the latter managed to keep it down as the ball trickled towards the compact slip cordon. The short delivery immediately triggered a response from Starc as he reminded India’s debutant about the pace that he is capable of producing.
“Harshit, I bowl faster than you,” said Starc to Harshit as the India pacer made his way back to his bowling mark. “I’ve got a long memory,” Starc added.
Starc’s response brought a smile to Harshit’s face and he didn’t have anything to say to the Aussie pace spearhead in return. Notably, Starc and Harshit played for the same franchise during the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Starc spearheaded Kolkata Knight Riders’ pace attack and Rana was his apprentice at the franchise.
Both pacers operated in tandem for the team during the lucrative tournament and made key contributions by providing crucial breakthroughs. Harshit bagged 19 wickets for the team during the course of the season and finished as their third-leading wicket-taker for them.
On the other hand, after an average outing during the league-stage of the tournament, Starc produced two match-winning spells in Qualifier 1 and the final to win them their third title. Starc was awarded the Player of the Match (POTM) in both games.
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Australia (Playing XI):
Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India (Playing XI):
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj
