Impressive Rana prioritizes skill over pace

Bangladesh pace bowling sensation Nahid Rana said on Wednesday that he is prioritising working on his skills than solely focussing on pace. Rana's maiden five-wicket haul helped Bangladesh earn an eight-wicket victory against Pakistan in the three-match ODI series opener at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.

Rana, who became the first Bangladeshi pacer to pick up the first five wickets of an innings, produced a fiery spell on a sporting wicket that is generally renowned for its slower surfaces. The youngster removed Sahibzada Farhan (27), Shamyl Hussain (4), Maaz Sadaqat (18), Mohammad Rizwan (10), and Salman Agha (5), reducing Pakistan to 69 for 5 to trigger a collapse.

"Honestly, I don't think too much about speed. In international cricket, skill matters more than pure pace," Nahid told reporters after the game at SBNS. "So I am trying to work more on improving my skills," he said adding that Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed guided him while he was bowling.

"In the beginning, Fizz Bhai (Mustafizur Rahman) and Taskin Bhai (Taskin Ahmed) were bowling. I was talking with them on the field about what was happening on the wicket. They told me that if you hit the right areas or maintain a proper line and length in certain spots, it becomes difficult for the batters to play. So I just tried to execute that on the field.

"I have played many matches on this ground before, so I tried to use that experience, understanding which line and length works best here and how to get help from the wicket. For me, every wicket is special. I don't think about cricket in terms of a wicket being good today and bad tomorrow. I believe that a bowler should understand the wicket first, whatever the condition is, and then bowl according to what the wicket demands."

Rana said that he welcomes the presence of a sporting wicket in Bangladesh as it will aid them in improving their skillset. "If the wicket is sporting, it definitely improves the skills of both batters and bowlers. If we can get more sporting wickets in our country, then when we go abroad and play on similar wickets, it won't feel unfamiliar," said Rana.

"If we play on sporting wickets at home and then face similar conditions overseas, the situations will feel more familiar, and we will know better what to do in different scenarios."

Rana also lavished praise on pace bowling coach Shaun Tait who had a reputation of being a menacing fast bowler during his playing days. "To be honest, he is an outstanding coach because he behaves with us not only as a coach but also as a friend," Rana pointed out. "Whenever we need something, he provides it. He always tells us to stick to our strengths and to let him know if we need anything. He says, 'Whatever you need, just tell me. I am here to guide you. You will play on the field, I will give you the plan, and you have to execute it and win the match.' So he always motivates us and gives us the best guidance."

Meanwhile, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said that he is impressed with Rana's bowling that resulted in his team getting bowled out for just 114 in the opening ODI. "Look, the wicket was fine. I think it played pretty well. I think Nahid Rana was exceptional. You know, until he came into the game, you know, we were ticking along okay. And he changed the game. He bowled into the wicket, created some variation and bounce, which he's allowed to do when he's bowling at that pace. And we didn't respond as well as we needed to. So all credit to him," said Hesson.

"It's actually the first time I've seen him bowl live. I've seen him bowl a lot on TV. I thought he bowled really nicely, even in warm-ups. He looked like he had his timing going well. And he bowls, you know, he bowls hard into the surface, he presents the seam, he bowls cross seam."