Nitish Kumar Reddy’s stocks have grown by leaps and bounds in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the young all-rounder gave another glimpse of his exceptional talent on Saturday (December 28).
In reply to Australia’s first innings total of 474 during the Boxing Day Test at MCG, India were reeling at 191/6 when Reddy arrived in the middle.
Amid the pressure situation, the 21-year-old stitched a 30-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (17) and followed up with a gritty 127-run stand with Washington Sundar to keep the visitors in the hunt.
After Sundar’s dismissal on 50, Reddy was tasked to bat with the fast-bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. While Bumrah was dismissed for a three-ball duck, Siraj did enough to ensure that Nitish Reddy reaches his maiden Test century.
Reddy brought up his three-figure mark with a lofted drive for a boundary over mid-on. The youngster was rather emotional after achieving the milestone. He kneeled down, planted his bat with the helmet on top and then thanked the almighty. His father Mutyala Reddy was also in tears at the MCG stands.
Soon after Reddy’s ton, the players walked off the field due to bad light and it also started drizzling minutes later. At the moment, India were 358/9 with Reddy (105) and Siraj (2) at the crease, still 116 runs behind Australia.
For his stunning hundred under pressure, Nitish Kumar Reddy received rich praise from the cricket fraternity on social media.
Here are the reactions:
