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Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that Nitish Kumar Reddy should have played every single match in the New Zealand ODI series after seeing his performance in the final game. The all-rounder helped in stabilising India's innings alongside Virat Kohli in the third ODI. He had come in to bat with the Men in Blue down to 71/4 and in desperate need of a solid partnership.
Reddy and Virat's fightback
The duo of Virat and Reddy led India's counter-attack against the Kiwis and scored runs sensibly. They helped the side in getting over the 100-run mark without losing any more wickets. Reddy didn't bat in explosive fashion but his running-between-the-wickets alongside Virat was commendable. He eventually brought up a well-deserved half-century as India looked to be back in the game.
However, Reddy got dismissed by Zakary Foulkes for 53 in the 28th over as the 88-run partnership came to an end. This dismissal left India on 159/5. Pathan was impressed with Reddy's batting display and lavished praise on him for being involved in strong partnerships in both the games he played in the series. He further highlighted how easily the all-rounder is able to rotate the strike and expressed faith in him to become Hardik Pandya's backup in the format.
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“Nitish Kumar Reddy was a positive. He scored a fifty with the bat, and Reddy played instead of Washington Sundar in Rajkot. I felt he should have played from the first game. The way he batted, Reddy showed he had the potential to play big shots and can rotate strike. Reddy was also involved in good partnerships in both games. Reddy can play those big shots easily, whether it’s the pull shot or playing straight. The way Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled, he touched speeds of 135," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
“It’s a decent speed, and it shows he has the potential to be Hardik Pandya’s backup. Even if Reddy fails, the management should persist with him, and India will eventually get a good all-rounder," he added.
Reddy's performance in the series
After missing out on the first match, Reddy was brought into India's playing XI as a replacement for the injured Washington Sundar. He scored 20 runs in the second ODI and formed an important partnership of 57 with KL Rahul. He went on to improve his performance with the bat in the third game, but his bowling wasn't that great and he ended up going wicketless in both the ODIs.
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