Mumbai Indians environment has improved my batting, says Nitish Rana

Mumbai Indians top-order batsman Nitish Rana credits the team’s environment for his marked improvement in batting performances. Rana was instrumental in guiding the Mumbai Indians to victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. His crucial knock of 50 from 29 balls brought Mumbai back into the game, which at point seemed to have slipped out of their hands.

Rana also contributed in Mumbai’s 159-run chase against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad with a well made 45 to ensure his side cantered across the finish line. The Delhiite has been quite consistent for the Mumbai Indians so far in this edition of the Indian Premier League, with scores of 34, 50 and 45 in the three matches he’s played. His steady performances with the bat have propelled him to the no.2 spot amongst the leading run-scorers in this year’s IPL. Rana is 10 runs behind Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner who leads the pack with 139 runs.

Nitish Rana attributed his success to his seniors in the team and his eminent coaching staff. “The environment made a lot of difference. When I came here, I interacted with a lot of senior players, (the coach) Mahela Jayawardene, Sachin sir (Sachin Tendulkar), Rohit bhai (Rohit Sharma).”

“I also spoke to Gautam Gambhir, I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me,” the 23-year old added.

Rana shared that inconsistency in the domestic sector had created some problems for him. He was disappointed after being dropped from the last Ranji Trophy game from the Delhi team. However, the Mumbai Indians setup has fostered great confidence in the youngster.

“There was no problem in the technique. I wasn’t able to play my game and could not enjoy. After I failed once-twice, I had gone into a shell. After coming here, my mind was clear, the practice and the first game went well, slowly (things started improving),” Rana said.

Nitish Rana also had an opportunity to reconcile things with his Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir, who made things much clearer for the young man.

“I have been with him (Gambhir) since childhood, 10-12 years, we are from the same club. He cleared my mind. Coming here the same thing I asked, Mahela, Sachin Sir and the same thing they shared and I tried to develop it in my game, it luckily worked for me,” he added.

With big names such as Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard going through a dry patch, Nitish Rana’s healthy contributions will be key for the Mumbai Indians in the middle stages of the tournament.