Nitish Kumar Reddy has shown that he is a big-match player, looking assured during his debut Test seriesbut his selection has also opened up a Pandora’s box for India, writes Sarah Waris.
It haunted India again at the MCG on day two; the horrors of “45 minutes of bad play”. Coined by Virat Kohli after the heartbreaking 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final defeat, the phrase has since become a recurring refrain, often resurfacing to describe India’s collapses in pivotal moments.
It was all chaos – poor runningharakiri, and the familiar story of India squandering a hard-earned advantage. By the end of the day, they had stumbled to 164 for 5, still trailing by 110 runs to avoid the follow-on.
On Saturday, the first goal was simple: to get Australia to bat again and then hope to put in a better performance in the second essay. It would be their best chance to draw the game and while it would not be enough to make the World Test Championship finalat least India could still look for their fifth straight series win against Australia, with a game more to follow at Sydney.
It did not go as per plan, with Rishabh Pant falling off a “stupid” shot and Ravindra Jadeja departing soon after, bringing a batter who could bowl and a bowler who could bat to the crease.
While Washington Sundar’s batting credentials are well known, Nitish Kumar Reddy was more of a “vibes” pick heading into the series. He averaged 21.05 with the bat in 23 first-class games and 27 with the ball before his selection, but with Shardul Thakur no longer in the frayIndia needed a seam all-rounder and Reddy was their best choice, slotting in at No.8 and bowling at around 130 clicks.
He impressed right away, scoring 41, 38 not out, 42, 42 and 16 (top-scoring three times in the process), culminating with his maiden Test ton at the MCG. He has not been afraid to play his shots or grind it out, adapting to either situation with both ease and elan. According to Cricviz, Reddy has the lowest false shot percentage (15 per cent) in the series among all batters, with Mark Nicholas even defining his cover drive better than Kohli’s. For a 21-year-old, who had once sneakily taken a selfie with Kohli, his idol, that is as big a compliment as it can get.
Despite his batting returns, there was considerable debate over Reddy’s spot in the XI for the MCG Test. It had nothing to do with him per se but about how his presence affected the team balance. Before the fourth Australia Test, Reddy had bowled just 27 overs in three games, or just over five overs per innings.
In contrast, Bumrah sent down 88 overs in the first three Tests and Mohammed Siraj, 83.1. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep combined to bowl nearly 80 overs too despite limited success: between them, the duo averaged 46.57 and conceded over four runs an over. With spinners having little aid and Reddy’s lack of pace rendering him ineffective, Rohit Sharma had to necessarily bowl either Harshit or Akash from one end during the Bumrah breaks, leading to plenty of easy runs. To counter that, India also overbowled Bumrah, who sent 28 overs each at the Gabba and the first innings at Melbourne, making it only the fifth time in 84 innings that he has bowled as many overs.
Rohit and the management, thus, had two options in front of them ahead of the Boxing Day Test: risk batting till No.7 and have four specialist seam bowlers – an aggressive approach – or be on the defensive, strengthening the batting instead, being fully aware that they would be up against big scores more often than not.
They chose the latter, also picking Sundar on a wicket that did not need two spinners, for his batting. Sundar and Reddy sent down 22 overs between them in Australia’s first innings of 122.4 overs at the MCG, fewer than what each of the other four bowlers bowled individually. It left the already inconsistent bowling even more brittle.
In the first three Tests, only two India batters in the top six had crossed 150 runs – Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. Kohli fizzled away after his Perth ton as his struggles against the off-stump channel continued. Shubman Gill got starts but conversion has been an issue in the format. Pant is currently amid his poorest Test series in four years, while Rohit’s extended poor form has led to debates on his future.
Since the start of 2023, five India batters have played 10 or more Tests, with only Jaiswal averaging more than 50. Actually, scrap that. More than 40. Led by Kohli’s indifferent form and Rohit’s inconsistencies, India’s batting line-up has struggled, getting bowled out for less than 250 in 14 out of 41 innings. This needs to be viewed with an asterisk as the wickets in India have become tougher for the batters, but it also suggests a lack of application on their part.
India has crossed 350 nine times in this period and another interesting pattern has emerged. In those games, India have lost their first five wickets below 200 five times, leading them to depend on the lower middle order. Overall, there have been 18 fifty-plus stands for the sixth wicket or lower, including five 100-plus partnerships, suggesting just how reliant the team has become on their all-rounders.
While additional batting depth is always welcome, it should not be a cover for the repeated top-order failings and India’s team combination at the MCG was nothing but that.
India have also batted out more than 80 overs 15 times since the start of 2023, but just four times in their last nine Tests. Not staying long enough at the crease has been a worry, and, in a bid to mitigate that, India thought their best way to not lose at the MCG was if they had more batting options.
At face value, Reddy and Sundar’s 127-run partnership lasting 47.1 overs vindicated the management’s decision. It saved India from trouble, avoided the follow-on and gave them a chance of a favourable result. But, is it sustainable, especially when you have a pace leader who is already prone to injuries due to his bowling action and with no one else putting up their hands? It can be argued that Australia have adopted a similar approach as well, with Mitchell Marsh as their fifth bowler, but the experience and effectiveness of their bowling attack far supersedes India’s.
There is no doubt that Reddy has cemented his place in the XI after his glorious hundred, but it should not be at the cost of a bowler. The easy answer would be to slot him in the top six and use his bowling as a bonus and nothing more. If conditions call for a fourth seamer at Sydney, it should be a toss-up between Prasidh Krishna or Harshit at No.8. The batting depth will weaken with Sundar likely not finding a slot either but select the team according to the wicket being prepared and not because of a fear of failure. That is how Test matches are won.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scoresmatch stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket newsplayer updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
