Nitish Kumar Reddy has reserved his respect for Pat Cummins for the Indian Premier League (IPL). The youngster, who was handed his debut Test cap by Virat Kohli, turned out to be Team India’s best batter of the day despite coming to the crease as the eighth batter. Nitish top scorer, scoring 41 runs in just 59 balls, and was the last batter to get out as India crawled to 150.
Nitish Reddy shows he’s ready for Test cricket
One of the highlights of his innings was his magnificent strike off his Sunrisers Hyderabad captain. However, only this time Cummins wasn’t his but the opposition’s captain. In the India vs Australia 1st Test, with the team down eight wickets, Nitish was forced to take an aggressive approach. He wasn’t batting slow before but upped his intent once Rishabh Pant fell.
Batting on 28, Nitish hit one of the most incredible uppercuts you’ll ever see. Cummins bowled a short ball at his right shoulder, which the all-rounder seemed to be caught off by. But instead of getting hit or leaving it, he decided he’d lean back and guide it over the third man. The ball crossed the boundary by a sliver. Australia had stationed Marnus Labuschange there, but it escaped his grasp.
Audacious shots like these were the reason India even got to 150. Before it was Pant who led the charge, and Nitish continued that until he couldn’t.
India’s first inning, highlights
- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal gone out ducks
- KL Rahul adjudged caught behind wrongly by the third umpire
- Virat Kohli’s dry spell continues
- Rishabh Pant and Nitish Rana give hope with 37 and 41, respectively
- Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood on point, Pat Cummins costly and slightly wayward
- Mitchell Marsh surprises with 2 wickets (Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar) in 5 overs
