'When Reddy Bhai got a free hit, the momentum shifted in our favor'

Nitish Reddy and Rinku Singh's joint fifties helped India set a record for the highest score in the 20-over format against Bangladesh, leading to an 86-run victory. With this win, Team India sealed the series with one match remaining. Rinku Singh spoke at the press conference about their game-changing partnership of 108 runs, mentioning that Mahmudullah's no-ball shifted the match's momentum. He praised Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was playing only his second match.

With this victory, Surya Kumar’s team took a 2-0 lead in the series, having defeated Bangladesh by 86 runs. Batting first after losing the toss at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, India scored 221 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Despite an early loss of top-order batsmen, India built a substantial total thanks to the remarkable 108-run partnership between Nitish Reddy and Rinku Singh. Reddy scored 74 runs while Rinku contributed 53.

At the post-match press conference, Rinku Singh shared their innings' story: "When I walked in to bat, Reddy Bhai advised me that there might be some issues with the wicket, so I played accordingly. Initially, I batted like that. As the wicket improved, we discussed building a partnership and attacking the bad balls. When Reddy Bhai got a free hit, the momentum shifted in our favor."

"The coach and captain told us to play our game and keep hitting the balls (laughs). The spinners were gripping the ball well. We thought that if we built a partnership, we could score big. So we kept taking singles and doubles. Reddy Bhai hitting fours and sixes changed our momentum."

On the free hit, Nitish Reddy hit a six off Mahmudullah Riyad. After that, he didn’t look back, playing one stroke after another. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh kept hitting sixes, and within 10 overs, India surpassed the 100-run mark. Reddy was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance, scoring 74 explosive runs and taking 2 wickets with the ball.

In his debut match, Nitish Kumar remained unbeaten on 16 runs, and today he played a career-best innings of 74 runs off just 34 balls. In this innings, Nitish hit a total of 7 sixes and had 4 boundaries.