NEW DELHI: India secured a series win against Bangladesh in the second T20I on Wednesday, thanks to a standout performance by all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who was playing only his second T20I match.
The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh scored a quick 74 off 34 balls, helping India reach a challenging total of 221/9. He also contributed with the ball, taking 2 wickets for 23 runs as Bangladesh managed only 135/9.
After the match, Reddy expressed his gratitude to his team. "It feels great to represent India, I feel so proud about this moment. Grateful for everything. I should give credit to the captain and coach. They gave me the licence to play fearless cricket," he said.
Reddy's innings began slowly but picked up pace after benefitting from a no-ball error by Bangladesh's
Mahmudullah, which he hit for a six off the free hit. "I took my time initially, but after that no-ball everything went in my favor. It feels great to play for the Indian team. I want to continue in this same way. Want to keep repeating such good performances," he added.
India faced early challenges, losing three wickets for 41 runs in the powerplay, but a partnership of 108 runs between Reddy and
Rinku Singh (53) stabilized the innings. Captain
Suryakumar Yadav highlighted the importance of such situations for testing the middle-order batsmen.
"I wanted that situation, wanted my batters (5, 6, 7) in that situation. Happy for both (Rinku and Nitish) of them," Yadav commented.
He also emphasized the message to the team was to perform with the freedom they are accustomed to in practice and franchise games.
"They batted exactly the way I wanted. You got to go out there and express. The message has been loud and clear—do what you do in the nets, and franchises. Just the jersey changes, rest remains the same," Yadav added.
Yadav also used the match to test the bowling lineup in different scenarios. "I wanted to see what different bowlers can do in different situations. Can they give me the difficult overs? Sometimes Hardik won't bowl, sometimes
Washington Sundar won't bowl. I wanted to see what the other guys had in store, really happy with it. It was his (Nitish's) day, I thought let him enjoy it and make it large."
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