Nitish Kumar Reddy on Friday conceded that the popularity of Perth being a quick bowler’s paradise made him a tad nervous forward of his Take a look at debut in opposition to Australia however the jitters vanished when he recalled head coach Gautam Gambhir’s recommendation — face the bouncers as if “you’re taking a bullet for the nation”. Nitish made a powerful 41 off 59 balls that lent a semblance of respectability to India’s general poor batting effort that yielded 150 of their first innings on the Optus Stadium.
“I heard loads concerning the Perth wicket. There was a little bit of nervousness. It was at the back of my thoughts that everybody was speaking concerning the bounce on Perth wicket. However then I remembered the chat I had with Gautam sir after our final follow session,” Nitish instructed reporters through the post-day press meet.
“He was mentioning that ‘once you get a bouncer, take it in your shoulder. It was like taking a bullet to your nation’. That simply boosted me. When he mentioned that I felt that I wanted to take the bullet for the nation. That is the perfect factor I’ve heard from Gautam sir,” he added.
The 21-year-old revealed that he was instructed concerning the impending debut a day forward of the primary Take a look at, however gathered himself with a quiet dinner and a night spherical of biking.
“We received to know (him and pacer Harshit Rana) about our debut simply in the future in the past, and we have been excited. We have been having dinner and we have been preserving calm as final week.
“We didn’t need to take an excessive amount of stress. We had a cycle trip as properly final night, in order that was good.” he mentioned.
Nitish was delightfully shocked when star batter and his idol, Virat Kohli, handed him the Take a look at cap within the morning.
“It was an important feeling (getting a cap from Kohli). I’ve all the time dreamed about taking part in for India and it was a unbelievable second. Virat bhai is my idol after I began taking part in cricket. So getting a cap from him was a cheerful second for me,” he gushed.
Nitish was real looking concerning the starting he made in Take a look at cricket, and admitted that taking part in for India A at Melbourne not too long ago helped him perceive the Australian situations.
“It was an excellent begin, not a dream innings however an excellent begin. To be trustworthy, the India A collection helped me loads as a result of it was my first time to Australia.
“Enjoying on this wicket in comparison with India, there are numerous variations, the bounce and so on. I felt there was extra (assist) off the wicket right here (than at MCG), however other than that the bounce and every little thing was the identical as Melbourne,” he detailed.
Maybe, that have mirrored in his assault of Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon, whom he carted for a couple of boundaries, together with a reverse sweep.
“I believed the wicket was good for the quick bowlers and I needed to make runs. When Nathan Lyon was bowling I noticed two or three balls with none drift. So, I considered taking over Lyon in order that we get some fast runs,” he mentioned.
Nitish and Rishabh Pant added 48 runs for the seventh wicket to hold India from 73 for six to 121 earlier than the latter received out for 37.
The Andhra cricketer mentioned it was an excellent expertise taking part in with Pant.
“It was good, you already know, Rishabh is an aggressive batsman. He is aware of his sport properly and he was guiding me at the moment as properly. So, it was good taking part in with Rishabh,” he added.
The Indian bowling unit underneath Jasprit Bumrah counterpunched to cut back the Aussies to 67 for seven at shut, and Nitish mentioned self-discipline was the watch phrase of the visiting bowlers.
“We have been attempting to hit the suitable areas. We have been discussing disciplined bowling, so that is what I feel Bumrah, Siraj and Harshit have accomplished.
“Clearly, the wicket helps loads and we need not do loads to get the wicket, simply bowl in the suitable areas and let the ball do the remaining,” he mentioned.
Nitish additionally lauded Bumrah’s captaincy.
“He is excellent…issues like change of overs and spells have been actually good,” he mentioned.
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