Nitish Kumar Reddy was primarily preferred over the seasoned spinning duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the opening Test against Australia to ease off the pressure from the frontline quicks in Perth, but the seam-bowling all-rounder marked an impressive debut with the willow, top-scoring for the team with 41 runs.
It eventually propelled India to 150 against a quality pace attack at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday.
Reddy conceded that the reputation of Perth being a fast bowler’s paradise did give him a few jitters when he was handed the Test cap, but revealed that the words of head coach Gautam Gambhir rang on his ears when he was challenged by a barrage of short-pitched by the Aussie quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and the all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
“I heard a lot about the Perth wicket. There was a bit of nervousness. It was in the back of my mind that everyone was talking about the bounce on Perth wicket. But then I remembered the chat I had with Gautam sir after our last practice session,” Nitish told reporters during the post-day press conference.
“He was mentioning that ‘when you get a bouncer, take it on your shoulder. It was like taking a bullet for your country’. That just boosted me. When he said that I felt that I needed to take the bullet for the country. That’s the best thing I have heard from Gautam sir,” he added.
The 21-year-old joined hands with Rishabh Pant with a crucial 48-run seventh-wicket stand to drag India, reeling at 73 for 6 to 121 before the latter got out for 37. Thereafter, the Hyderabadi right-hander continued his vigil to ensure that the team got to some respectability.
Revealing his feelings after he was informed of his possible Test debut at Perth, Nitish said he gathered himself with a quiet dinner and an evening round of cycling.
“We got to know (him and pacer Harshit Rana) about our debut just one day ago, and we were excited. We were having dinner and we were keeping calm as last week. We did not want to take too much pressure. We had a cycle ride as well last evening, so that was good.” he said.
Nitish said he was surprised when star batter and his idol, Virat Kohli, handed him the Test cap in the morning.
“It was a great feeling (getting a cap from Kohli). I have always dreamed about playing for India and it was a fantastic moment. Virat bhai is my idol when I started playing cricket. So getting a cap from him was a happy moment for me,” he gushed.
On his maiden trip Down Under with the senior side, the youngster admitted that playing for India A at Melbourne recently helped him understand the Australian conditions.
“It was a good start, not a dream innings but a good start. To be honest, the India A series helped me a lot because it was my first time to Australia. Playing on this wicket compared to India, there are a lot of differences, the bounce etc. I felt there was more (help) off the wicket here (than at MCG), but apart from that the bounce and everything was the same as Melbourne,” he detailed.
Perhaps, that experience reflected in his assault of Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon, whom he carted for a few boundaries, including a reverse sweep.
“I thought the wicket was good for the fast bowlers and I had to make runs. When Nathan Lyon was bowling I saw two or three balls without any drift. So, I thought of taking on Lyon so that we get some quick runs,” he said.
Later, stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah led India’s countercharge with four wickets to reduce the Aussies to 67 for seven at stumps. Nitish said that the message was clear for the visiting bowlers to stick to the right areas.
“We were trying to hit the right areas. We were discussing disciplined bowling, so that’s what I think Bumrah, Siraj and Harshit have done. Obviously, the wicket is helping a lot and we don’t need to do a lot to get the wicket, just bowl in the right areas and let the ball do the rest,” he said.
Nitish also lauded Bumrah’s captaincy, saying, “He is very good…things like change of overs and spells were really good.”