New Delhi: For any cricket player, playing a debut game in Perth can be tricky indeed. Such was the case for Nitish Kumar Reddy who debuted for India on Friday as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy kickstarted. The Indian players has to adjust to the bounce on what can be said as one of the fastest pitches in the world but the 21-year-old Reddy looked on a song as he wasn’t intimidated a bit despite growing up listening to the folklore about Western Australia.
Reddy was the top-scorer for India in their 150 all-out as he played a knock of 41 runs facing 59 deliveries laced with six fours and a six. Reddy utilised the pitch conditions well across both sides as the track showed extravagant seam movement. He was decisive while selecting the shots as he even upper-cut Australian captain Pat Cummins, his captain at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), for that lone six.
The shot wasn’t exactly what his head coach had asked him to do with the bouncers at Perth, which was to “take them on the shoulder like taking a bullet for your country”. Nonetheless, Nitish’s own way of tackling the bouncers worked well and post-day also reflected on how inspired he felt after that chat with his coach.
“Even I had heard a lot about Perth. I still remember that after our last practice, I had a chat with Gautam (Gambhir) sir. He mentioned that when you get any bouncers or are facing a sharp spell, just take it onto your shoulder like you’re taking a bullet for your country,” Nitish said, adding that these words by Gambhir fuelled him to perform.
“That really helped me a lot, like that just boosted me up. I had that on the back of my mind. About that Perth wicket, everyone was talking like there will be good bounce in this wicket but when he said that thing to me, I felt like you need to take bullets for your country. That’s the best thing I have heard from Gautam sir,” Nitish added.
Kohli hands Reddy Test cap
The day had started with Reddy getting his Test cap from star batter Virat Kohli, someone who he had looked after while growing up. He was informed that he is going to play, on the eve of the first Test, and he celebrated this by going out for dinner and a cycle ride with Harshit Rana, his co-debutant.
“It was a great feeling. I always dreamed about playing Indian cricket and it was such a fantastic moment. Virat (Kohli) has been my idol since when I started playing cricket, so getting a cap from him was a happy moment for me,” Nitish expressed.
Australia currently trail India by 83 runs as they ended the day at 67/7 after 27 overs of their first innings, in response to India’s 150. The seamers feasted on a spicy pitch at Perth as they scalped 17 wickets on the opening day itself.
Nitish Reddy was boosted by Gautam Gambhir who had some powerful words for the all-rounder before he made his Test debut in Perth on Friday. Reddy was a bit nervous about the Perth bounce, here’s how he tackled it. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
