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Simon Doull reserved high praise for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana following his fine half-century against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Eden Gardens on Monday, May 8.
The former New Zealand cricketer suggested that Rana paced his innings really well during the run chase and ensured that they kept the required run rate in check.
Doull pointed out how the left-handed batter adopted an attacking approach when Liam Livingstone came to bowl the 11th over. Rana hit two boundaries and one six against the part-time spinner as Kolkata accumulated 16 crucial runs from the over.
Speaking about the southpaw's batting exploits, Simon Doull told Cricbuzz:
"He [Nitish Rana] summed up the situation. They had bowled really well, and then they tried to sneak an over of Livingstone in, and he went bang straightaway. He summed up the situation perfectly. He had been held in check and they had bowled two tight overs and thought I'd sneak a Livingstone over. Nitish Rana was having none of it."
Rana was the top scorer for KKR, mustering 51 runs off 38 balls. He was instrumental in the team chasing down PBKS' 180-run target in a last-ball thriller.
"He is learning the captaincy side of things" - Simon Doull on Nitish Rana's IPL 2023 campaign
Simon Doull further stated that Nitish Rana is still learning how to balance KKR's captaincy and his batting. He noted that the player did an exceptional job against PBKS and that he was able to make a significant impact with his knock.
Notably, Rana was appointed as the new skipper of the Kolkata-based side ahead of the season after regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the tournament owing to a back injury.
Speaking highly of the Kolkata skipper, Doull added:
"I think he [Rana] is learning the captaincy side of things. He is probably still coming to grips with captaining and his batting. I thought he summed up that situation perfectly at that time, and that's what gave them the impetus for the back end of that innings."
With their five-wicket victory over Punjab, the Knight Riders moved up to fifth place in the IPL 2023 points table. The two-time champions have five wins and six losses to their name from 11 outings.
