[Watch] ENG vs IND 2025: Nitish Kumar Reddy dismisses England openers in same over at Lord’s

While the specialist Indian pacers continued to probe, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy got the first two wickets on Day 1 of the third Test at the renowned Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

After Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep took the new ball. Both bowlers caused problems for Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the openers. There were several plays and misses, but India’s luck was not on her side. Mohammed Siraj was introduced in the ninth over, as Bumrah switched ends. However, Shubman Gill and his team were still waiting for first blood.

There was enough movement on the pitch, but England’s openers were doing just enough to survive and form an important combination. Shubman opted to give his seam-bowling all-rounder, Reddy, a crack at the England hitters in the 14th over, and the decision paid off handsomely.

Nitish Kumar Reddy first delivery went past Duckett’s outside edge, while the second sailed for a boundary between mid-on and mid-wicket.

The next ball was a long hop down the leg side, and Duckett tried a draw stroke to help it along. However, there wasn’t much pace on the ball, and the southpaw gloved it to the right of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who made an excellent catch. The England opener was removed after hitting 23 runs from 40 balls.

Three balls later, Crawley got a jaffa from Reddy. The Hyderabad all-rounder put a delivery in the corridor of uncertainty, and Crawley went for a tentative poke. The ball swung away at the last minute, and the opening batter only managed to get a nick through to Pant, who didn’t have to work as hard as he had to during the previous dismissal.