Border-Gavaskar Trophy first Test: I just went with my plans, says Nitish Kumar Reddy

Debutant Nitish Reddy shines with 41 runs and inspiring debut against Australia, receiving Test cap from idol Virat Kohli.

On a day when 17 wickets fell at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday (November 22, 2024), one man, striding in at number eight, scored a 41. Nitish Reddy could not have asked for a better Test debut as first-up his idol Virat Kohli handed him the national cap and then he held his own against Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is also his Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper in the IPL.

Asked about the specific moment when he got his Test cap, Nitish said: “It was a great feeling. I always dreamt of playing for India and it was fantastic to receive the cap from Virat Kohli, who has been my idol since I started playing cricket.” And about his 41, Nitish added: “I just went with my plans and my partner Rishabh (Pant) is an attacking batter, and he was guiding me all the time. There was not much drift for (Nathan) Lyon and I decided to get some quick runs and help the team move ahead.”

A seamer himself, Nitish did not get a chance to bowl on the opening day of the first Test against Australia but he felt inspired by the spells of Jasprit Bumrah and company: “Obviously the wicket is helping a lot and so we don’t need to do much to get the wickets. So we kept the discipline and eventually wickets came our way. At the break we were discussing about discipline in bowling. So that’s what I guess Bumrah, (Mohammed) Siraj and Harshit (Rana)have done.”

On match-eve, Nitish had a quiet dinner with fellow debutant Harshit: “We knew about our selection and we just decided to be calm and not get too excited.” Acutely self-aware, Nitesh signed off: “This was a good start but it was not a dream innings. Need to continue like this.”

Indian all-rounder Nitish Reddy recalled a chat he had with coach Gautam Gambhir in the lead-up to the first Test against Australia. “Our coach said you are playing for the country and in places like Perth there will be bounce, take it on your shoulder, on your body, it is like taking a bullet for your country. That really inspired me,” Nitish said.