The fast bowling all-rounder is a coveted commodity in cricket. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Marcus Stoinis and Andre Russell lend tremendous value to team balance, be it in international or franchise cricket.
On Wednesday, India unearthed a second diamond in the form of Nitish Kumar Reddy. A terrific show with bat and ball against Bangladesh in the second T20I here elevated Nitish as the ideal partner for Hardik.
Sent in to bat at four, Nitish, in partnership with Rinku Singh, rescued India from a precarious 41 for three. Nitish read the conditions well, giving the pacers respect on a pitch which offered grip.
When the spinners were brought in, Nitish came to life. Mahmudullah, Rishad Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were taken apart with a flurry of sixes, propelling Nitish to a match-winning 34-ball 74. His knock was instrumental in taking India’s score well beyond the reach of Bangladesh.
The team management went the extra step in giving Nitish the new ball. Hes did not yield a PowerPlay wicket, but he did scalp two in the death overs. Playing his second T20I, Nitish earned the ‘Man of the match’ award.
Nitish made his senior domestic debut for Andhra at the age of 16, but it was his good batting shows in IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad which pushed him into the limelight.
Indeed, Nitish’s batting is his primary skill, and he has had to work on his bowling. He credited India head coach Gautam Gambhir for pushing him to focus on his seamers. “I should thank Gambhir sir. He gave me a lot of confidence. He told me to believe in my bowling. He said that I should think like a bowler, not as a batter who can bowl. That gave me a boost,” Nitish told bcci.tv.
On his partnership with Rinku, Nitish said, “He (Rinku) told me it is God’s plan. We believed it and just hit the ball... When Rinku took a single and gave me the strike, I felt that it was my time to take on the off-spinner (Miraz).”
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