NEW DELHI: Fast bowlers finishing their follow-throughs close to the batters after bowling a bouncer with a few words is as old as the game itself.
Some batters keep their calm and don’t respond to concentrate on their batting, while some do answer back.
But when the batter is also a pace bowler, then a response is expected more often than naught, more so if the contest is between India and Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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With captain Jasprit Bumrah having stuck in his first over on Day 2 of the first Test in Perth, Harshit Rana too had his tail up and was bowling with fire.
With Australia 8 wickets down and Mitchell Starc playing a defiant knock to frustrate the Indians, the debutant Rana bowled a couple of bouncers to the Aussie pace spearhead and followed it up with some verbal volleys.
In the 30th over of the Australian first innings, after a couple of more bouncers, Starc decided to respond to Rana with whom he had played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
After the fifth delivery of the over, a bouncer that was edged to go to second slip to Virat Kohli, Starc said to Rana with a smile, “Harshit, I bowl faster than you. I have a long memory.”
The friendly banter also brought a smile on Rana’s face.
Cricket Australia shared a clip of the incident on their official X handle:
India were bowled out for 150 in their first innings on Day 1.