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Uttar Pradesh captain Nitish Rana slammed an impressive century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024 clash against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
UP bundled out Mumbai were bundled out for 198 in the first innings after electing to bowl first. In response, Uttar Pradesh posted an impressive 324-run total, courtesy of Rana's wonderful knock.
The southpaw walked out to bat at No. 6, and adopted a counter-attacking approach. He crossed the 100-run mark in just 105 balls. He came up with a unique celebration after completing his ton, cleaning his bat with a hand towel.
You can watch the video of Nitish Rana's celebration below:
A few fans speculated that Nitish Rana appeared to take a sly dig at young Yash Dhull with his celebrations. Rana was reportedly unhappy with Dhull replacing him as Delhi's white-ball captain, which also resulted in him ending his 10-year-long stint with the Delhi side last year.
"The dressing room atmosphere of the Delhi team was not good for my career" - Nitish Rana
Speaking after Day 2 of the ongoing Ranji Trophy encounter between Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai, Nitish Rana expressed his desire to prove his worth in red-ball cricket.
He admitted that he had made a mistake by only concentrating on shorter formats. He was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz:
"It was my mistake that I wasn't focusing on red-ball cricket. A lot of people had started talking that I wasn't a red-ball player, and I would not have had to listen to that talk. Since I switched from Delhi (this year), my target has been to make my name in red-ball cricket again."
The left-handed batter also suggested that he was not happy with the dressing room atmosphere in the Delhi team. Speaking about joining Uttar Pradesh, he added:
"It was in my mind that the dressing room atmosphere of the Delhi team was not good for my career. I felt that a change was necessary for my career. I have always looked at UP as an Elite team, and I know people here. Luckily I have got a team where I am getting respect."
Nitish Rana has played two T20Is and one ODI for India. He has performed admirably in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years, amassing 2594 runs from 105 matches.
