The third Test between India and England started with a bang at the Lord's Cricket Ground. On the game of Day 1, everyone expected that Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Jasprit Bumrah would be the players who would give a breakthrough to Team India in the form of wickets, but Nitish Reddy came out of syllabus for the English batters. In the game of Day 1, after an hour, England lost the wickets of their opening batters Zak Crawley (18) and Ben Duckett (23) in Reddy's over.
Reddy changed his entire preparation plan before embarking on his Test cricket journey against England. He learned that he was not satisfied with his bowling performance in the Australia tour, and it was necessary to improve his bowling for the cold and humid conditions of England. In this regard, he took advice from his IPL skipper, Pat Cummins. Cummins explained to him that the weather in England and Australia plays a big role, and one has to be smart while bowling in those conditions.
After the game ended on Day 1 of the third Test, Reddy stated in a press conference,
“I just asked him (Pat Cummins, his captain at Sunrisers Hyderabad) what's the difference between Australia and England since this is my first tour, and he said that it's not going to be like a change, but you watch about the weather conditions and just play your game,” he said. You will get to know because obviously I am going to play two India “A tour of two games, so he said, ‘Just try to learn as much as you can, and you will get on there.’”
Nitish also credited his self-determination after the IPL for the improvement in his bowling. He said that after the Australia tour, he decided for himself that he has to improve his bowling. As a part of the new strategy, on the first day of the third Test, he sent both England openers—Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley—to the pavilion in his third over itself, which gave the Indian team an early lead in the match.
Apart from this, Nitish also mentioned his conversation with Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel. He said that he bowled in practice with Morkel. His understanding has improved, and he is liking his guidance. This rapid development led him to an impressive performance against England from the second innings of the first Test series.
The result was that on the first day of the Lord’s Test, Reddy showed disciplined line, swing, and wicket-taking ability. This strengthened India’s bowling, even though fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep were already in the lineup. The advice received from Cummins, training with Morne Morkel, and his own hard work combined to lead to success.
In this way, Reddy proved that if an emerging player has proper guidance and the right mindset, then he can dominate even on the big stage. By balancing IPL, foreign mentoring, and Test cricket, he has made a great start in England, leaving challenges behind.