"Kept Telling Me...": Nitish Kumar Reddy Recalls Gautam Gambhir's Advice After Match-Winning Knock
Nitish Kumar Reddy credited India head coach Gautam Gambhir for boosting his confidence.
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy said the idea was to take on the Bangladeshi spinners and credited head coach Gautam Gambhir for boosting his confidence after his all-round effort powered the hosts to an 86-run win in the second T20I in Delhi. India, who had lost to Bangladesh the last time these two teams clashed here, landed in trouble with their top order blown away inside the powerplay but Reddy and Rinku Singh joined forces to turn the tables on Bangladesh. The pair put on108 runs for the fourth wicket from 49 balls to take the game away from Bangladesh, with Reddy clobbering seven sixes and four fours to make 74 from a mere 34 balls.
“The conversation that we were having (was) a smooth conversation, we were not taking any pressure. We did not plan anything about the score. We saw the spinner coming on to bowl, and we thought that this was the main over and we should take him on,” he said in a video shared by BCCI.
“To be honest, I should thank Gautam sir for this. He gave a lot of confidence in me. He told me to believe in my bowling. (He said) 'when you are bowling, you should think like a bowler and not as a batsman who can bowl'. That is what he kept telling me and that somehow boosted me,” he added.
Reddy said he was grateful for being adjudged the Player of the Match.
"Playing for India is in itself a proud moment and getting the man of the match (award), I feel so grateful for this and I just want to live in this moment,” he said.
“Once I got to know that from here you should take on. I just knew that I will take on the bowlers. I was backing myself saying ‘you can do this', added Reddy, who returned 4-0-23-2.
“The conversation between us was like, he was telling me that maybe it is God's plan. We were just believing (in) it and we were just hitting the balls,” Reddy said in a video shared by BCCI.
Rinku, who scored 53 off 29 balls with five fours and three sixes, said the pair decided to take the attack to the opposition.
“We were enjoying our batting. I just said it is God's plan, just keep hitting and leave it on the one above. Nitesh bhai also batted well,” said Rinku.
“It was only his second international match and it felt really good watching him,” he added.
Rinku looked at his record with pride saying he has won each series that he has played for India and expressed his wish to continue doing that.
“This was my third of century in T20Is and all three have come in situations where India have lost early wickets have been lost and I got the chance to bat and I made a fifty,” he said.
“I have won all the series with the Indian team since I started playing, so I would want to remain with the team and the key keep winning,” added Rinku, who also has ‘God' plan' tattooed on his arm.
Rinku said India skipper Suryakumar Yadav urges his players to remain aggressive and play their natural game.
“Surya bhai has asked us to be aggressive and play our natural game, just back our shots and show our energy,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
India Cricket Team
Bangladesh Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir