Young Indian cricketer Nitish Kumar Redd, who made his debut in the high-octane clash at Perth, scored a crucial 41 off 59 balls in the first innings, aiding India in reaching a total of 150 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth.
Reflecting on his performance, he shared his thoughts on the innings and his experience playing under captain Jasprit Bumrah. "It was a good start. It's not a dream innings, but it was a good start," said Reddy, modestly assessing his performance. Reddy also praised Bumrah's captaincy, who is leading the side in place of regular captain Rohit Sharma, appreciating the strategic decisions made during the game. "He's very good. It's my first Test match playing under Bumrah. It's pretty hard to mention about his captaincy, but as of now, he's been very good with the change of overs and everything, change of spells. I saw he's very good," said Reddy. The young cricketer also highlighted the motivational advice he received from Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir, which significantly boosted his morale during challenging moments on the field. "I had a chat with Gautam [Gambhir] Sir. He was mentioning when you get any bouncers or sharp spells, just take them onto your shoulders, feel like you are taking a bullet for your country. That really helped me a lot, it just boosted me up. That's the best thing I have heard from Gautam Sir." Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to bat first. They lost their wickets regularly. However, knocks from Nitish Kumar Reddy (41 in 59 balls, with six fours and a six) and Rishabh Pant (37 in 78 balls, with three fours and a six) took India to 150. Josh Hazlewood (4/29) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, with skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Starc getting two each. India came back strongly as the three fast bowlers rattled Australia to 67/7 after the end of the day's play. Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah led the pace attack with his fiery spell of 4/17. (ANI)
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