During the second game of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, young all-round player Nitish Reddy thanked Gautam Gambhir for bolstering his confidence as a bowler and revealed the crucial advice he got from the Indian head coach. Reddy became the first Indian cricket player to score 70 or more and subsequently take two wickets in a T20I.
In just his second T20I, Nitish Reddy emerged as Player of the Match thanks to a strong all-around performance. After India lost two early wickets, he walked into the bat and Nitish took full advantage of the chance to bat at No. 4. Nitish scored 74 runs off 34 balls, smacking seven sixes and four boundaries. India scored a massive total of 221 runs, thanks to a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket from Nitish and Rinku Singh.
Nitish steals show with both bat and ball
Nitish Kumar was given the task of starting the attack with the new ball by captain Suryakumar Yadav. Nitish also performed admirably, limiting the number of runs during the powerplay. At the very end, he came back to bowl and got the wicket of Bangladesh's top scorer, Mahmadullah. He took Tanzim Sakib's wicket as well.
"To be honest, I should thank Gautam sir for this. He gave me a lot of confidence. He told me to believe in my bowling and told me 'when you are bowling, you should think like a bowler. You should not think you are a batter who can bowl, you should consider yourself a bowler'. That somehow boosted me. I would like to thank Gautam for this," Nitish Reddy said in a video shared by the BCCI.
Nitish demonstrated his variations and bowled steadily at a pace of about 135 kph on Wednesday. After bowling his allotted four overs, the star player only let up 23 runs. Bangladesh lost the second T20I by an overwhelming margin of 86 runs, folding for 135 in 20 overs. All-rounder Hardik Pandya did not get to bowl, but captain Suryakumar Yadav deployed up to seven bowlers. India benefited from the move as all seven bowlers claimed a minimum of one wicket in a convincing display.
