A stamp of intent in KKR's opening win, orchestrated by Nitish Rana

He has been inconsistent over the years, he has failed to perform at times in crucial games, he has even been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism by fans. However, there is no denying this man’s skill with the bat. Nitish Rana is probably not someone you would bet on to be in the national side, and admittedly, he is not at that level yet. That, however, does not mean that he will not someday. The 27-year-old might not be the youngest in the game but he is in the prime of his career, and the same was evident in Kolkata Knight Riders’ season opener against the SunRisers Hyderabad. Also, he is currently the highest-scoring uncapped Indian in the IPL.

It takes a lot of confidence and guts to strike the first ball of the game through the off-side for a boundary, let alone executing the same against someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Well, that is exactly how the game started, and that is exactly what Nitish did. It was flawless, the shot. The stance, the back-lift, the trajectory of the ball that cut through Warner’s field placement like a hot knife through butter. Why wouldn’t you be confident if that is how you literally start your season? You could feel that something special was cooking after the first over.

In the past, Rana has been temperamental, going with his emotions rather than thinking about the next delivery. So when the second ball was bowled at his pads and he gently pushed it to the leg side, you knew that this was not the Nitish Rana we were used to. This was a changed man. This was a man who was willing to fight for a coveted spot in the Indian side for the T20 World Cup in October. And this is not a fluke, we knew Rana had it in him. He has shown us time and again that he can single-handedly win games for his team.

What stands testament to the statement is his domestic and IPL statistics. He has smashed 2,645 runs in 105 domestic T20 innings, with a best score of 97. His highest score in first-class cricket is 174. Yes, 174. Of course, international competition and domestic competition are two completely different things, but scoring that many runs in any form of competitive cricket takes talent, and this man has far too much of it.

The question, the all-important question, is the same that will be asked of every single player participating in the IPL. “Can you keep this up?” Talent is one thing, but consistency is a whole different ball game. If Rana cannot pull off these kinds of performances, he can kiss his dream of earning a maiden Team India cap goodbye for the time being.