On a day where the pace bowlers had torn apart the batting department of both sides and some of the notable batters took center stage, it was the debutant all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh, Nitish Reddy, who was the leading run-getter of the opening day of the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
India didn’t have a great start, having opted to bat first, as they kept losing wickets at the regular interval throughout the day. Four wickets in the first session, followed by the dismissal of Dhruv Jurel at the start of the second session, didn’t help the course. Nitish Reddy and Rishabh Pant put up an entertaining 48-run stand for the seventh wicket.
The former had a juggling start to his innings before he started to look a bit more calm and composed. When the premier off-spinner of the opponent side, Nathan Lyon, was introduced into the attack, he showed an aggressive version of his batting.
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Nitish Reddy, quite comfortably, nailed a hit reverse sweeps for boundaries on several occasions against the veteran bowler. When his captain for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) threw the short ball at him, the right-handed batter went with the momentum of the ball and cut it with power over the head of the wicket-keeper.
Nitish Reddy shares advice of Gautam Gambhir to face the short ball
The Visakhapatnam-born didn’t enjoy a great time with the blade in the two unofficial Test against Australia A at Mackay or in Melbourne, with just 71 runs coming across four innings at an average of below 18, including one duck on his name. But at the vital point of time, Reddy drilled 41 runs in 59 balls with the help of six boundaries at a strike rate of nearly 70.
Coming in the press conference at the end of the day’s play, the batter looked back at the advice he received for facing the short balls from the Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, in the lead-up to the game.
“Even I heard a lot about Perth, and I still remember the last practice we were having, and after the practice, I had a chat with Gautam Sir, and he was mentioning (that) when you get any bouncers, or something like that, sharp spells, you just take it on your shoulders.” Nitish Reddy expressed at the end of the first day’s play.
The former opening batter of India, Gambhir, who is known for his strong and rigid mindset, delivered a great piece of suggestion to the all-rounder regarding taking the bullets for the country.
“(He said) ‘Just feel like you are taking a bullet for your country’. That helped me a lot. That just boosted me up. The Perth wicket, everyone was talking like there is a good bounce in this wicket (and) when he said that thing, and I felt like (I) needed to take bullets for (my) country. That’s the best thing I have heard from Gautam Sir.” Nitish Reddy shed light.
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The situation wasn’t an easy one when he walked out to bat at number eight position with his team six down for just 73 runs on the board. The pacers he faced carried quality and loads of wickets, consisting of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Lyon.
Those 40-odd runs from Nitish Reddy could end up being the difference between the two teams at the end of the contest.