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Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy said that he is working on his bowling with coach Morne Morkel in his goal to be a genuine all-round option and added that the South African great gives him a lot of confidence.
In his second T20I, Nitish delivered a performance to remember with an explosive knock of 74 and two wickets to go with it, helping India secure a massive 86-run win over Bangladesh at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. Speaking to JioCinema after the game, Reddy provided insight into his bowling preparations and conversations with Morne Morkel, saying, "Yes, I am working on my bowling. I want to be more consistent because that will help me grow as a good all-rounder. He is a great coach and gives me a lot of confidence, so I am very grateful to have him on the team. The plans here are very different, and they have been really helpful for my development and skill." Nitish said that while batting at number four works for him, he can bat anywhere. "You can send me to open, middle-order, or lower-order. I have batted in previous age groups as well, so I was ready for everything," he added. On his plan to tackle spinners, against who he scored 53 off 19 balls in his knock, the all-rounder said that he has worked hard on his skill to take on spinners, especially his bat swing. "After my first year, I realized I needed to improve in this area. It feels good to see that hard work paying off," he added. Speaking on the role of Indian Premier League (IPL) in his development, Nitish said, "At the start, I did not expect to bat at No. 4. I was being looked at as a proper all-rounder who could bat in the lower order. But when I performed against Punjab, that is when they believed in me and gave me the chance at No. 4," he added. In this year's IPL, the young all-rounder, who represented runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was chosen as the 'Emerging Player of the Tournament', scoring 303 runs in 11 innings at an average of 33.66 and a strike rate of over 142, with two fifties and best score of 76*. He also took three wickets in the tournament with his pace bowling. Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl first. India was reduced to 41/3 at one point, but Nitish (74 in 34 balls) and Rinku Singh (53 in 29 balls, with five fours and three sixes) put on a match-saving stand of 108 runs. Hardik Pandya (32 in 19 balls, with two fours and two sixes) played a fine cameo to power India to 221/9 in their 20 overs. Rishad Hossain (3/55) and Taskin Ahmed (2/16) were the top bowlers for Bangladesh. In the run-chase of 222 runs, Bangladesh initially kept up with the run-rate but lost wickets continuously. Except Mahmadullah (41 in 39 balls, with three sixes), nobody could really play a decent knock and Bangladesh ended with 135 on the board with nine wickets lost. India won by 86 runs. Varun Chakravarthy (2/19) and Nitish (2/23) were among the top bowlers for India. Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag got a wicket each. India has won the three-match series 2-0. Nitish won the 'Player of the Match' award for his fine all-round show. (ANI)
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