Rohit Sharma, done with his nets session, was soon near the playing arena as the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian side headed towards the dressing room after their thumping 295-run win over Australia in Perth on Monday.

Complimenting stand-in skipper Bumrah wholeheartedly for his stellar show with the ball that was key to India leading 1-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit also patted debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana on the back for a job well done.

For Nitish and Harshit, though, the congratulatory words from India’s regular captain should come across as bigger inspiration going forward in this series. That, assuming they will be retained in the XI for the second Test in Adelaide, a pink-ball day-night game beginning on December 6.

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed the duo’s inclusion for the Australia tour, especially as seamer all-rounder Nitish had a red-ball experience of just 23 matches while pacer Harshit played only 10 before this Test. But both youngsters vindicated Gambhir’s trust in them with their perfect response to critical situations, which too were crucial for India’s win.

Top scorer in the first innings, Nitish’s 41 and his 48-run seventh-wicket stand with Rishabh Pant were massive in taking India to 150. Without that, India may have struggled to reach even 100. Nitish did impress further with his strokeplay in the second innings where he made an unbeaten 27-ball 38, but it was his enterprising nature on a difficult Day I pitch that stood out.

The Andhra and Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder got only seven overs tobowl. But in the fourth innings, he ensured to hitthe right area and length to send back a well-setMitchell Marsh, ending Australia’s resistance.

“Gambhir changed Nitish’s batting stance a little while he was a travelling reserve during the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. You will also see him going a tad deeper into the crease. He has also lengthened his run-up a bit. These tweaks have worked,” a team source said.

“One quality of Nitish’s game is he can adjust to the situation. Right through he has been like this. During his U-19 days, he played as an opener. So, a juicy wicket and facing the new ball aren’t alien to him,” former Andhra coach Nirmal Kumar, who has worked with Nitish and is currently guiding Andhra U-23, told The Telegraph from Vijayawada.

“He has improved on his power-hitting since last year... Downswing speed of the bat (which makes sure the ball travels a long distance) is the area I’ve worked with him,” Nirmal said.

Talking of Harshit, his first-innings spell of 3/48 was an ideal support for Bumrah. His numbers in the second innings weren’t marvellous, but he did ruffle up Travis Head with a bouncer and beat him outside the off-stump after cleaning the left-hander up with excellent use of the seam in the first innings.

“Harshit’s advantage is his height and he can also bowl the heavy ball (which bounces higher than usual from the good length). So, what he needs at present is adjusting his length a little and consistently pitching it in the right areas,” formernational selector Devang Gandhi, also an ex-coachof Delhi, said.