Nitish Reddy credits star Australian player for his bowling improvement

India picked only four wickets on Day 1 of the third Test match against England at Lord’s. The pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj, and Akash Deep asked tough questions to English batters but picked just one wicket combined. England openers looked uneasy in the first hour of play but scraped through unscathed. India needed a breakthrough and the skipper brought Nitish Reddy into the attack. The all-rounder bowled a delivery short down the leg side and Duckett nicked behind the keeper. India got the breakthrough in the 14th over as Nitish sent Ben Duckett back for 23 off 40. 

In the same over, he bowled a peach of a delivery to Zack Crawley. The ball angled into him and shaped away after pitching only to take the edge and Pant did the rest. In his first over, he sent both openers back to the hut and brought India back in the game as England lost two for 44. Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed with the ball throughout the day as he kept troubling English batters with his late movement in the air and off the pitch. Reddy bowled 14 overs on day 1 of the Lord’s Test, picking 2 wickets for 46 runs. Following the day’s play, the Indian all-rounder reflected on his bowling performance and credited Australian skipper Pat Cummins for his improvement. 

"After Australia tour, I felt like I have to improve my bowling and my consistency. That's what I looked about. And yeah, Pat is my captain, and he's been brilliant in Australia and I have asked him some tips and he has been telling me how things would've been done in Australia, how can I go through in Australia. And that's a great experience for me, sharing with Pat Cummins," Reddy said in the press conference.     

‘I’m enjoying working with Morne Morkel’- Nitish Reddy 

Nitish Reddy also shared his experience of working with Morne Morkel while highlighting his progress in his bowling and said that he relishes working with the South African pacer. For the unversed, Morkel is currently serving as India’s bowling coach for the Indian Men’s Cricket Team. 

"Coming to this tour, I would say, working with Morne Morkel has been great for me. He has been working with me for a couple of weeks and we are seeing good progress in my bowling, and I'm really enjoying working with him."    

Reddy played the second Test but didn’t make any significant contribution with bat or ball. He scored 1 run each in two innings and didn't pick any wicket throughout the Test match. Meanwhile, England are 251 for 4 at Stumps on day 1 in the third Test at Lord’s.