Nitish Rana became the 46th batter in Indian Premier League (IPL) history to reach the 2,000-run mark on Thursday.
On Thursday, he accomplished this feat against the Delhi Capitals in the league’s 41st match. In a losing effort, Rana hit 57 off 34 deliveries, including three fours and four sixes, before being dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman.
Rana is now up there with batters like JP Duminy (2029), Kane Williamson (2033), Adam Gilchrist (2069), and Aaron Finch (2073).
Overall, the top five run scorers in the league’s rich history are Virat Kohli (6411), Shikhar Dhawan (6086), Rohit Sharma (5764), David Warner (5710), and Suresh Raina (5528).
In the current IPL season, Rana has scored 200 runs at an average of 22.22 in nine innings. He has two half-centuries and a personal best score of 57.
In the match, KKR batted first and scored 146/9 in 20 overs. KKR continued to lose wickets at regular intervals, but contributions from Shreyas Iyer (42), Nitish Rana (57), and Rinku Singh (23) helped them reach a respectable total. DC’s bowler of choice was Kuldeep Yadav, who finished with 4/14 in three overs.
Chasing 147, DC made a shaky start, losing Prithvi Shaw on the first ball of the innings. The innings were then stabilised by a 65-run partnership between David Warner (42) and Lalit Yadav (22). The side was reeling at 84/5/ after their departure and the dismissal of captain Pant. Axar Patel (24) and Rovman Powell (33*) then led the team to victory with six balls to spare.
With yesterday’s victory, DC are now in sixth place while KKR are eighth. DC will now take on the Lucknow Super Giants on May 1 while KKR will take on Rajasthan Royals on May 2.
(Inputs from ANI)