"It could have paid off" - Former RCB pacer feels Nitish Reddy should have shown more aggression in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Varun Aaron believes Nitish Reddy should have played the role of an aggressor in India's fourth innings of the Lord's Test against England in London. The visitors were bowled out for 170 on Day 5 (Monday, July 14), suffering a 22-run defeat.

With India required to chase a 193-run target, Aaron opined that Nitish should have been given the freedom to play his shots. He reckoned that if one of the Indian batters had played attacking cricket, the side could have ended up on the victorious side.

Suggesting that Nitish would have been an ideal candidate for the role, the cricketer-turned-commentator told JioHotstar:

"I feel that in such a situation, where you don't have to chase a big target, you need to designate the role of an aggressor to one batter. If you look at the morning session, India had four proper batters in hand— Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant. At least one of those batters should have taken that role. Maybe India would have scored runs earlier in that case. "Nitish Reddy was the prime candidate because he had never been in this situation. When you give a youngster the freedom to express himself, you never know, it could have paid off."

Nitish walked out to bat at No. 9 when India were reeling at 82/7 in 24.4 overs. The youngster scored 13 runs off 53 balls before getting out caught behind to Chris Woakes.

Ravindra Jadeja was the top performer with the bat for India in the innings. The veteran all-rounder toiled hard for 181 deliveries and remained unbeaten on 61. However, his efforts went in vain as the side failed to overhaul the total.

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Nitish Reddy failed to score big in both innings of ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Nitish Reddy got off to a decent start in India's first innings at Lord's. However, he failed to convert it into a big score, perishing after scoring 30 runs from 91 balls. The 22-year-old showed a lot of patience in the subsequent essay as well.

He was involved in a 30-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja. His dismissal put England in a commanding positon. While he couldn't get big runs under his belt, he did an impressive job with the ball in the encounter.

Nitish dismissed England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett after the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. He got the better of Crawley in England's second innings as well.

Meanwhile, England lead the five-match Test series 2-1. The fourth match is set to be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, from July 23 to 27.

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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai