Spin great Anil Kumble praised Nitish Kumar Reddy's showing with the ball on Day 1 of the Lord's Test on Thursday, adding that India should persist with the young all-rounder as his inclusion lends balance to the playing XI.
India retained Reddy despite his twin failures with the bat in the second Test in Birmingham. The medium pacer rocked England in the morning session as he struck a double blow in his first over, dismissing both openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in his first over. He did a fine job with the ball, keeping things with figures of 2/46 in 14 overs as India managed to restrict England to 251/4 in 83 overs on the opening day.
Kumble believes Reddy could turn out to be a 'partnership breaker' and also allow the Indian fast bowlers some rest if he bowls regularly in Tests.
"I thought he did quite well in Australia -- got a hundred with the bat and bowled decently, even if he didn't take many wickets. What you need from someone like him is to break partnerships and give the fast bowlers a breather while still maintaining control," Kumble said on JioHotstar's Match
"He bowled nearly 14 overs in a spell -- that shows fitness and control. He is young, he is a capable batter with a century under his belt, and he is a sharp fielder. India should persist with him and avoid the temptation to chop and change."
Kumble was surprised by India's decision not to have Ravindra Jadeja bowl to new batter Ben Stokes, after he had dismissed Ollie Pope.
"I do think India missed a trick after Jadeja got that breakthrough. I was surprised he didn't continue bowling to Ben Stokes and changed ends instead. India will probably reflect tonight and feel that one or two more wickets could have put the match firmly in their favour. As it stands, it's evenly poised."
While the spin great believes the Lord's pitch is not easy for scoring runs, he pointed out that England will be delighted to lose just four wickets on a tough opening day.
"It was evident right from the start that it was going to be a grind for the batters. The openers struggled to score off the new ball, and this was the kind of pitch where you had to work hard for your runs. I thought the Indian bowlers bowled really good areas consistently -- that's one of the reasons India managed to restrict England to 251. England will be fairly satisfied with just four wickets down."
© 2025