Nitish Reddy no Hardik Pandya, but it'll be baffling if he can't; let alone be better, more brutal
Nitish Reddy has taken to Test cricket like fish to water and if he can continue batting this way against Australia, the sky is the limit.
Young Nitish Kumar Reddy isn’t a household name in India, not yet, but if he continues to build on the flair he has displayed over the last fortnight, it won’t be long before he starts to attract eyeballs by the thousands. In Australia, he is already a bit of a star for his ready smile and grounded attitude. And for some outrageous shot-making, of the kind he unfurled at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Not quite a product of the IPL but using that stage as a springboard to greater things, Nitish had provided glimpses of his comfort levels with Test cricket on debut in Perth with two meaningful knocks, the first with India in the doldrums and the second with his team looking to accelerate with an eye on a declaration. In the first dig, he took a shine to Nathan Lyon, sussing up that the experienced off-spinner wasn’t getting any drift and therefore was ripe to be driven over the off-side or reverse-swept. Two days later, he made a mockery of the Aussies’ negative lines to blast his way to 38 not out off 27.
Test cricket? Hey, what’s the big deal, Nitish seemed to ask.
It should be a big deal, truth to tell. It’s debatable if, eight months back, even Nitish would have dreamt of making his debut by the end of the year. In Australia, of all places. By then, he had played only 21 first-class games, averaging in the early 20s. Then, IPL 2024 happened. Nitish took the tournament by storm, emerging as one of the stars of finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad, and caught the eye of those who matter as he forced his way into the Test squad on the back of a rare skill in Indian cricket – the ability to bowl more than briskly while batting competently, attackingly, attractively.
It's astonishing how quickly Nitish has taken to Test cricket. As far as bowling goes, he is still a work in progress. One suspects it will be a while before he graduates into a third seamer in his own right, but his batting – it’s just wow. And not just in the IPL, where the mandate is to go out and thrash the ball.
On the evidence of what one has seen in Australia so far, No. 7/No. 8 is a little too low for the youngster from Andhra Pradesh, still only 21 but with a remarkably wise head. As if to show that Perth wasn’t a flash in the pan, Nitish again fused a commonsensical approach with remarkable maturity on day one of the second Test on Friday.
Nitish Reddy's counter-attack that no one saw coming
Nitish had walked in at 73 for six on day one in the first Test and weighed in with 41, steering India to 150. The situation wasn’t that different this time, his team labouring at 87 for five. In Washington Sundar’s absence, he earned a promotion to a slot higher and showed that it was perfectly justified with another sensible, versatile batting exhibition. Till such time that Rishabh Pant and then R Ashwin were around, Nitish was content to bat within himself. But once India slumped to 141 for eight, he decided it was time to embrace the lead role.
He turned down singles in the early part of an over even when Jasprit Bumrah, his captain on debut, charged halfway down the track. He picked his spots, sparing not even the most pedigreed in the opposition bowling attack. Mitchell Starc had taken five of the first eight wickets, but Nitish thought nothing of taking his left foot to the pitch of a full ball from the left-arm quick and creaming him over the cover fence for six. It took one back to a similar shot KL Rahul had played against Pat Cummins at the same ground in 2018. By then, Rahul was a four-year Test veteran, with hundreds in Australia and England as an opener. Nitish? All you could do was open your eyes wide in disbelief and excitement.
But whether that was even the coup de grace is open to question. A little after that jaw-dropping dismissal of Starc, Nitish turned his attention on Scott Boland, the man who took six for seven on debut in the Boxing Day Test of 2021 against England. After a rusty start in his first Test for 17 months, Boland had hit his lengths when Nitish switched his grip and essayed a spectacular reverse scoop that screamed over third-man. Boland stopped in his tracks, and looked at Nitish in admiration and wonderment. Along with 50,186 entranced fans. This lad, yes, he definitely can bat.
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