Nitish Kumar Reddy attributed his success with the ball on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test against England to work with his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins and India bowling coach Morne Morkel.

The Indian all-rounder returned with the figures of 2 for 46 in 14 overs as England ended the opening day at 251/4.

Reddy was India’s first-choice all-rounder on the 2024/25 tour of Australia, where he did impress with the bat and slammed a century at MCG, but wasn't used enough as a bowler.

More than the couple of scalps that he claimed on Day 1 at Lord's, it was the fact that skipper Shubman Gill introduced him early into the attack and gave him as many as 14 overs shows that Nitish has earned the trust of the team management as a bowler.

"After the Australia tour I felt like I have to improve my bowling and my consistency. That's what I looked [at]. And yeah, Pat is my captain [in the IPL], and he's been brilliant in Australia, and I have asked him [for] some tips and he has been telling me how things would have 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 post-day presser, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"Coming to this tour, I would say, working with Morne Morkel has been great for me. He's 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," he added.

Nitish Kumar Reddy featured in the first-class games and one intra-squad match before the marquee Test series.

"We've been working on my consistency a lot since I get a bit of swing both ways," Reddy said. "I just want to be consistent on the areas. So we are working on that. I've been working hard on my bowling for one year or two years. I've been doing a lot of hard work, but later on it is about understanding things and believing in myself. If you believe, that's when your hard work comes on point. That's what I'm realising now."

Reddy delivered only five overs during the IPL 2025 season as he was recovering from a side strain, but he has built up his loads pretty well.

"After injury it's been a bit tough for me to get into my rhythm," Reddy said. "It had been hurting a bit after the injury as well. An the end of the IPL season, I got my bowling started into the matches and I felt great. I just want to enjoy the movement, want to bowl what my team wants from me, and I guess that's what I have done exactly, and pretty happy the way I bowled today, and I just want to continue tomorrow."

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)