Two balls later, he pitched it short again, and the out-of-form Harry Brook nicked one to KL Rahul. Rana had taken two in four balls and England were three down. From thereon, India never really lost control. Rana went from 0/37 in three to 3/53, including the wicket of Liam Livingstone in seven overs and England were all out for 248.

What started as a nightmarish debut ended up being a memorable one for Rana. From the time he was picked for the Perth Test, he seemed to be steadily moving up the pecking order. Even in this series, he came as a cover for Jasprit Bumrah, but at the moment if the senior pacer doesn’t get fit in time, Rana could be the replacement India prefer for the Champions Trophy as well. While one has to wait and see what happens, Shravan Kumar, Rana’s childhood coach, is a happy man.

“It feels great when your student plays all three formats for India. It shows that something is right with your coaching,” Shravan Kumar laughs. By nature an aggressive cricketer, Shravan believes that Rana will learn to control it and focus on accuracy. “You start with a little accuracy, after that, you should go for pace. He sometimes goes for the extra speed and gets hit but then comes back better,” Kumar told this daily.

For Chandrakant Pandit, head coach of KKR, it is the confidence that Rana has on his abilities which makes the difference. Pandit feels that when given responsibility, Rana responds well. “Whatever we have seen from the first year, especially in IPL, he could respond to the various situations. He is very well aware about what ability he has. He has definitely learned more about bowling in the death, bowling with the new ball, has variations with the slower deliveries and a good short delivery, because he has got the pace. He likes challenges, I believe,” Pandit told this daily.