Indian batting all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed with the ball on a gripping day of Test cricket at Lord’s, claiming two key wickets of England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to give India an early advantage. Reflecting on his performance, the Andhra Pradesh cricketer spoke about his continued development as a bowler under the guidance of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins and Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel.
Despite England’s shift to a more measured Test approach, Nitish’s spell of 2/46 in 14 overs dented their early momentum, leaving them at 44/2 in the first session. He credited Cummins for sharing vital tips during the Australian tour and praised Morkel for helping fine-tune his bowling for overseas conditions.
“Pat has been brilliant in Australia, and I asked him how to bowl there. Morne has been working with me over the past few weeks, and I’m seeing good progression,” said Nitish. He added that understanding conditions in England and Australia involves adjusting to the weather more than the pitch.
The all-rounder, who has taken 63 wickets in 31 first-class matches, said he has been diligently working on his bowling over the past two years and is committed to fulfilling whatever bowling role the team requires, without feeling any pressure.
Nitish also expressed a desire to join the elite list of centurions at Lord’s after scoring a hundred at the MCG during the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “It would be a dream to get my name on the honours board at Lord’s. I’ll give it my best.”
Speaking about India’s bowling unit, Nitish shared insights from Jasprit Bumrah’s leadership, saying, “Bumrah just tells us to be patient and keep doing the good work. That’s what we did today.”
At stumps, England were 251/4, recovering well after the early blows. Joe Root remained unbeaten on 99 alongside captain Ben Stokes (39*), anchoring England through a composed final session. Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah took one wicket each, while England avoided further damage by reverting to classical Test batting over their usual ‘Bazball’ flair.
Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja broke a solid 109-run partnership by removing Ollie Pope for 44, and Bumrah soon followed up with a peach to bowl Harry Brook for 11. England reached the 200-run mark in the 64th over, with Stokes and Root ensuring a steady finish to the day.
Brief scores: England 251/4 (Joe Root 99*, Ollie Pope 44; Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/46) vs India.
The five-Test series remains evenly poised at 1-1.