Nitish returned with the bowling figures of 1 for 19 in two overs.
India pulled off a crucial 14-run victory over the West Indies in the third T20I on Sunday (October 11) at Indore’s Holkar Stadium to claim a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Invited to bat first, India racked up a massive total of 223 all out, led by a blistering 69 off 30 balls from Abhishek Sharma. Besides Abhishek, Ishan Kishan made 37 off 18 balls, while vice-captain Tilak Varma scored 28 off 16 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy (21 off 14), Axar Patel (20 off 14) and Prince Yadav (13* off 6) also produced useful cameos.
Despite a spirited chase from the West Indies—anchored by Shimron Hetmyer (43) and Kamil Pooran (42)—Indian pace spearhead Arshdeep Singh's impressive bowling figures of 3 for 44 helped restrict the visitors to 209/7.
In the post-match interview, Nitish lauded the Indian team's defensive bowling execution to deny the West Indies easy runs.
“A win is a win. We’re all proud of our efforts over there. We know it’s not easy to bowl at this ground, but still, the bowlers have executed their plans perfectly. So the result has come,” Nitish, who returned with the bowling figures of 1 for 19 in two overs, told broadcasters.
Reflecting on his performance with the ball, the all-rounder said: “At the time, I think they needed 14 runs per over. We thought in six balls, if we give a single every ball, that would be a win for us. We were not going for a wicket. It’s just a defensive plan. Sometimes a defensive plan can be an attacking plan.”
Nitish emphasized that the team has very clear plans set by skipper Shreyas Iyer, removing any ambiguity about their role.
“It’s just very clear plans from the skipper. We just have to stick to our plans and have to bowl to the field. If we stick to our plan and then if it goes for a six, it doesn’t matter, but we have to be brave enough to bowl in that overs,” he remarked.
Asked about the challenge of posting a good total while batting first on a pitch with short boundaries, Nitish and praised tailender Prince Yadav for his crucial late-innings cameo, which ultimately provided the match-winning cushion.
“We started really well, I would say, and then in middle overs we were trying to build a partnership, and here and there a little bit of unlucky dismissals for our team. But at the end, you can see Prince Yadav getting those crucial runs mattered a lot,” he concluded.