Nitish was the top scorer for India in the first innings of the Perth Test against Australia.
However, the young all-rounder managed to settle his nerves by recalling head coach Gautam Gambhir’s ‘taking a bullet for your country’ remark.
Nitish was the top scorer for India in the first innings at the Optus Stadium, returning with 41 runs off 59 balls. His knock provided a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal batting display by the visitors, who were bowled out for a paltry 150 after opting to bat first.
“I heard a lot about the Perth wicket. There was a bit of nervousness. It was in the back of my mind that everyone was talking about the bounce on Perth wicket. But then I remembered the chat I had with Gautam sir after our last practice session,” Nitish said in a press conference after the close of play on Day 1.
“He was mentioning that 'when you get a bouncer, take it on your shoulder. It was like taking a bullet for your country'. That just boosted me. When he said that I felt that I needed to take the bullet for the country. That's the best thing I have heard from Gautam sir,” he added.
India handed debut caps to Nitish Kumar Reddy and pacer Nitish Rana in Perth as they decided to leave out seasoned spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, from the playing XI.
Washington Sundar is playing as the lone spinner in India’s line-up, which also features Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel.
Nitish revealed that he and Rana were informed about their selection just a day before the match. To stay composed, they went for a relaxing dinner and a bike ride.
“We got to know (him and pacer Harshit Rana) about our debut just one day ago, and we were excited. We were having dinner and we were keeping calm as last week. We did not want to take too much pressure. We had a cycle ride as well last evening, so that was good.”
Nitish was left overwhelmed after receiving maiden Test cap from his idol, Virat Kohli. “It was a great feeling (getting a cap from Kohli). I have always dreamed about playing for India and it was a fantastic moment. Virat bhai is my idol when I started playing cricket. So getting a cap from him was a happy moment for me,” he said.
Reflecting on his Test debut, Nitish acknowledged that while it wasn't a dream innings, it was a decent start. He attributed his success to the experience of playing for India A in Melbourne.
“It was a good start, not a dream innings but a good start. To be honest, the India A series helped me a lot because it was my first time to Australia.”
“Playing on this wicket compared to India, there are a lot of differences, the bounce etc. I felt there was more (help) off the wicket here (than at MCG), but apart from that the bounce and everything was the same as Melbourne,” he remarked.
Nitish stitched a crucial 48-run partnership with Rishabh Pant, helping India recover from a precarious position of 73/6.
“It was good, you know, Rishabh is an aggressive batsman. He knows his game well and he was guiding me at that time as well. So, it was good playing with Rishabh.”
Riding on skipper Jasprit Bumrah’s sensational spell (4-17), India reduced Australia to 67/7 at stumps. Nitish highlighted that the bowlers' disciplined approach was key to their success.
“We were trying to hit the right areas. We were discussing disciplined bowling, so that's what I think Bumrah, Siraj and Harshit have done.”
“Obviously, the wicket is helping a lot and we don't need to do a lot to get the wicket, just bowl in the right areas and let the ball do the rest.”
Nitish lauded Bumrah's captaincy, emphasizing his effective field placements and bowling changes. “He is very good...things like change of overs and spells were really good.”
(With inputs from agencies)