IPL 2021: How a Punjabi song prompted Nitish Rana to develop a new celebration

Nitish Rana opened up on his special celebration after reaching fifty against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The opener disclosed how the celebration was a reference to the famous Punjabi song 'Brown Munde'.

The Kolkata Knight Riders star scored a blistering 56 ball 80 in a Man of the Match performance on Sunday. The 27-year-old was at his sublime best, with his contribution helping KKR post a match-winning total of 187/6.

Nitish Rana spoke to teammate Harbhajan Singh after the game. The off-spinner asked the batsman to share the story behind his celebration, and Rana revealed it had a hidden message for his friends.

“It was like this (shows the gesture). It was for my friends, and the whole group is a fan of the song ‘Brown Munde.’ We all love the song, and I thought of the celebration before the season and told my friends I will do it as a message to them that we are Brown Munde,” explained Nitish.

Another 50-run partnership in no time for @KKRiders.These two are on song at the moment 💥💥Live - https://t.co/pSh1Qt33LQ #SRHvKKR #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/scUY2vsI9i

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 11, 2021

Nitish Rana brought out the celebration after reaching his fifty. The batsman brought up the milestone with a thumping six off Vijay Shankar, before removing his gloves to show off the special celebration. Speaking to Harbhajan Singh, Nitish Rana was ecstatic after starting the new season on a positive note.

“Feeling great (after the knock). It is the first game of the season and happy to start on a good note. I will try to carry this form and help my team as much as I can,” said Rana.

Nitish Rana shares his batting plan against SRH

Our Southpaw landed all his strikes in last night's bout 🥊@NitishRana_27 #KKRHaiTaiyaar #SRHvKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/Qjt3IAUVEm

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 12, 2021

Playing as an opener, Nitish Rana built up his innings beautifully against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was 13 of 13 at one stage, with Rana choosing to play out Bhuvneshwar Kumar early on. Once set, Nitish Rana picked up the scoring rate and took on the SRH bowlers smartly. Bhajji asked Rana to dissect his match-winning effort after the game.

“It was a fresh wicket, so I wanted to see how the ball behaves off the wicket in the first couple of overs. After that, whenever the ball fell in my arc I felt I had to hit it. I tried to attack the loose balls,” shared Rana.

Nitish Rana has gone past 300 IPL runs for the past four seasons in a row. A solid start in 2021 bodes well for the youngster, and Harbhajan Singh hopes Nitish Rana makes his India debut soon.

"Very well done Nitish. I hope you continue to do this for KKR and I wish you all the best going forward. I hope to see you in the Blue of India very very soon,” concluded Harbhajan.

KKR reaped the benefits of an in-form Nitish Rana, which helped ease the pressure on their middle-order. If the opener can consistently fire like that, KKR could be one of the dark horses for the IPL crown this season.