"Seeing good progression in my bowling...": Nitish Kumar Reddy on working with coach Morne Morkel

London [UK], July 11 (ANI): Following a solid day with the ball, which included two prized wickets of openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, Indian batting all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy opened up on working with his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins and Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel on improving his bowling, especially for the overseas tours.
Even though England managed to dominate a large chunk of the day by resorting to traditional and slower-scoring method, it was Nitish (2/46 in 14 overs), who rattled them with early wickets and left them reeling at 44/2 during the first session.
Speaking about his bowling, Nitish said that after the Australia tour, during which he took five scalps in five games at an average of 38.00 with best figures of 2/32, he felt the need to improve his bowling and consistency at it.
"Pat is my captain (for SRH), and he has been brilliant in Australia. I had asked him for some tips on how I could get things done in Australia. It was a great experience to learn from him. Coming to this tour, I had been working with Morne, and it has been great. He has been working with me for the past couple of weeks and seeing good progression in my bowling," he said.
"I asked Morne what the difference is between bowling in England and Australia. He told me that there is not much difference, but you have to look at the weather conditions and just play your game. I played two India A games here as well (before the tour) and he asked me to try to learn as much as possible over here," he added.
Nitish revealed that he has been working on his bowling for the past one or two years. He has taken 63 wickets in 31 first-class matches at an average of 29.23, with best figures of 5/53. He represents Andhra Pradesh in domestic cricket.
After getting a century at iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) during the Boxing Day Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Nitish expressed about the possibility of getting his name on the Lord's honours board with a century, "I would be so happy if I if get named on the board. Everyone will be looking for that opportunity, and I will do my best for that."
He said that as far as bowling is concerned, he will do whatever his team asks for him, be it bowling on fourth, fifth or sixth stump line and he does not feel any pressure to deliver as a bowler.
Speaking on his pace attack's approach, Nitish said that Jasprit Bumrah, the leader of the pace unit, asks them to "be patient and do the good work as much as we can".
"So that is what we did today. We were expecting more wickets. But we are happy with the way we bowled. Whoever got the ball, they did the job brilliantly. We just want to keep that discipline tomorrow as well and get those six wickets as quickly as possible," he concluded.
At the end of the day's play following the third session, England was 251/4, with Joe Root (99*) and skipper Ben Stokes (39*) unbeaten. After a balanced first session, which saw Nitish Kumar Reddy strike twice, England largely dominated the next two with more traditional Test cricket as compared to their attacking 'Bazball' cricket, despite strikes from Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.
England started the final session at 153/2, with Root (54*) and Ollie Pope (44*) unbeaten.
Ravindra Jadeja finally broke the 109-run stand, striking on the very first ball of the session with wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel taking a sharp catch. Pope was back in the hut for 44 in 104 balls, with four boundaries. England was 153/3 in 49.1 overs.
The newly-crowned number one Test batter Harry Brook was next up on the crease, starting positively with fours against Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. However, in a battle of number ones, Bumrah's nip-backer went right through Brook's stumps, removing him for 11 in 20 balls. England was 172/4 in 54.5 overs.
A single off Mohammed Siraj's delivery by skipper Ben Stokes brought England's 200-run mark in 64 overs.
Stokes and Root played it safe, resorting to more traditional Test cricket, reaching their 50-run mark in 100 balls.
The duo made sure that England did not lose any more wickets, ending the session on a positive note, with Root left stranded on 99*.
England won the toss, opted to bat first. The series is levelled 1-1.
Brief scores: England: 251/4 (Joe Root 99*, Ollie Pope 44; Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/46) vs India. (ANI)