New Delhi: Harshit Rana, India's unrestricted right-arm fast bowler, has been selected for India's third and concluding Test against New Zealand, scheduled to be held in Mumbai from November 1, according to ESPN.
Currently, New Zealand leads the three-match series with a score of 2-0. The visitors secured a victory in the first Test at Bengaluru by 8 wickets and subsequently won the second match by a margin of 113 runs, which was contested in Pune.
Rana has been an integral part of India's cricket teams since the breakout season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2024, playing for the champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he achieved an impressive tally of 19 wickets at an average of 20.15 in 13 matches.
In addition to his role with the KKR, Rana is among a group of young talents chosen for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, alongside promising young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, and wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel.
Reflecting on the match in Pune, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. It was a strong performance from Devon Conway (76 runs in 141 balls, including 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 runs in 105 balls, with five fours and a six) that provided New Zealand with a substantial platform before Wellington's seven-wicket haul led to a collapse, reducing New Zealand's score from 197/3 to 259 all out. Ashwin (3/64) also displayed a commendable performance with the ball.
India found themselves at 16/1 at the conclusion of the first day's play. The second day saw Mitchell Santner's bowling efforts result in a significant batting collapse, with figures of 7/53, leading to a total of 156 runs for New Zealand and a lead of 103 runs. Ravindra Jadeja (38 runs in 45 balls, including three fours and two sixes), Shubman Gill (30 runs in 72 balls, with two fours and a six), and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30 runs in 60 balls, with four boundaries) contributed to the team's efforts with their batting.
New Zealand is now in their second innings and is aiming to extend their lead as far as possible, aiming to set a challenging target for India and secure a rare series win at home after a gap of 12 years.
