"We had a cycle ride" - Nitish Reddy on how he and Harshit Rana relaxed ahead of debut in 1st BGT 2024-25 Test
Nitish Reddy said that both he and Harshit Rana were in a relaxed mood ahead of their Test debut against Australia in Perth on Friday, November 22. He revealed that both of them even went cycling last evening.
Both Reddy and Rana made an impact on the opening day of the Perth Test. While the former top-scored with 41 off 59 in India's first innings, the latter claimed the massive wicket of Travis Head for 11. Batting first, India were bowled out for 150 but struck back to reduce the Aussies to 67-7 by stumps.
Speaking to reporters after the opening day's play in Perth, Reddy opened up on how both he and Rana were in a composed frame of mind ahead of their Test debut. The 21-year-old said:
"We got to know (him and pacer Rana) about our debut just one day ago, and we were excited. We were having dinner and we were keeping calm as last week. We did not want to take too much pressure. We had a cycle ride as well last evening, so that was good."
Asked if he would describe his debut Test knock as his dream innings, the right-handed batter replied:
"It was a good start, not a dream innings but a good start."
On the challenge of dealing with the bounce in Perth, Reddy admitted that playing at the venue is different from batting in India. He also added that playing for India A in Melbourne recently aided his cause.
"Playing on this wicket compared to India, there are a lot of differences, the bounce etc. I felt there was more (help) off the wicket here (than at MCG), but apart from that the bounce and everything was the same as Melbourne," the Andhra Pradesh cricketer commented.
Reddy hit six fours and one six in his innings before being dismissed by Pat Cummins. On the other hand, Rana finished with figures of 1-33 from eight overs.
"It was a great feeling" - Nitish Reddy on receiving Test debut cap from Virat Kohli
Before the start of the match in Perth, there was a proud moment for Reddy as he received his Test debut cap from none other than his idol Virat Kohli. Asked about the feeling of getting his cap from the Indian legend, the debutant said:
"It was a great feeling. I have always dreamed about playing for India and it was a fantastic moment. Virat bhai is my idol when I started playing cricket. So getting a cap from him was a happy moment for me."
Meanwhile, Australia will resume Day 2 in Perth trailing India by 83 runs, with three wickets in hand. At stumps on Day 1 of the Test, Alex Carey was batting on 19 and Mitchell Starc on 6.