Follow UsNitish Kumar Reddy bowled just six overs and conceded 29 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston. However, the fast-bowling all-rounder from Andhra made a solid impact with the ball for India on Day 1 of the third Test at Lord’s on July 10 (Thursday).
Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj bowled with great control but failed to dismiss England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in the first 13 overs. That’s when Shubman Gill handed the ball to Reddy, and the right-arm seamer removed both openers in his first over. Reddy bowled 14 overs on Day 1 and claimed 2 wickets for 46 runs.
Reddy credited his IPL captain at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Pat Cummins, and India bowling coach Morne Morkel for his improvement with the ball. "After Australia tour I felt like I have to improve my bowling and my consistency,” said the 22-year-old, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"That's what I looked about. And yeah, Pat is my captain, and he's been brilliant in Australia and I have asked him some tips and he has been telling me how things would've been done in Australia, how can I go through in Australia. And that's a great experience for me, sharing with Pat Cummins.
"Coming to this tour, I would say, working with Morne Morkel has been great for me. He's working with me for couple of weeks and, we are seeing good progress in my bowling, and I'm really enjoying working with him."
Reddy averages 29.23 in first-class cricket but has managed only seven wickets in as many Tests at an average of 37.86. Even in IPL 2025, he bowled just five overs. "We've been working on my consistency a lot since I get a bit of swing both ways," Reddy said.
"I just want to be consistent on the areas. So we are working on that. I've been working hard on my bowling for one year or two years. I've been doing a lot of hard work, but later on it is about understanding things and believing in myself. If you believe, that's when your hard work comes on point. That's what I'm realising now.
"After injury it's been a bit tough for me to get into my rhythm. It had been hurting a bit after the injury as well. An the end of the IPL season, I got my bowling started into the matches and I felt great. I just want to enjoy the movement, want to bowl what my team wants from me and I guess that's what I have done exactly, and pretty happy the way I bowled today, and I just want to continue tomorrow."
India took only four wickets on Day 1 but didn’t allow England’s batters to score freely. The hosts batted 83 overs and scored 251 runs at a rate of 3.02. Talking about India’s bowling plan, Reddy said: "Just with (Jasprit) Bumrah leading the attack, we just follow what Bumrah says."