The wonder boy for the future of Indian cricket, Nitish Reddy, was picked in the squad for the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. He was kept in the squad for the two unofficial red-ball clashes against Australia A at the MCG and Manuka Oval in Canberra, where he displayed a great temperament with the bat in the lower middle order.
Nitish Reddy had a great debut game at the Optus Stadium in Perth when he came into the middle when the touring side was struggling at 73/6. The right-handed batter smashed the pacers for a few big shots to end with a knock of 41 runs in 59 balls with a strike rate of 69.49, thanks to six boundaries and one over-boundary. He followed it up with another gorgeous knock of unbeaten 38 balls in 27 balls in the second innings.
The pink ball was swinging so much in the day-night fixture that the top order of the Blue Brigade failed to get a good score on the board. But the 21-year-old walked out with so much fear in his eyes. He swung his willow to cream the left-arm pace bowler, Mitchell Starc, over the cover for a six, which caught the eyes of millions.
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At 87/5, the aim for India would be to get around 150 on the board, but Nitish Reddy had other plans as he cracked a smooth 42-run knock in 54 balls with the help of three boundaries and three sixes at a strike rate of 77.78. The touring side finished on 180 in the first innings, as NKR was their highest run-getter individually.
Nitish Reddy dedicates his maiden Test century to his father
The same scenario flashed out in the second innings of the Adelaide game, where he walked with the fall of Rohit Sharma at 105 and soon droved Pat Cummins for a superb four to get the nerves back. Pant was dismissed on the last ball of the very first over of the third-afternoon session, but Reddy was in no mood to give up.
The youngster drilled a knock of 42 runs in 47 balls with the help of six boundaries and one six at a strike rate of nearly 90. The only struggle with the bat for him in the series was during the first innings at the Gabba when he could add just 16 runs in 61 balls before chopping the Pat Cummins’ delivery onto the stumps.
Nitish Reddy’s only lack in the entire series was his bowling, having grabbed only a few wickets with the ball in hand. And that didn’t allow Rohit to show much faith in him in that department. A few raised questions if India would need to drop him to get the right balance of the side.
But the Andhra player showed his brilliance with the bat during the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Walking at 191/6 and then watching the fall of Ravindra Jadeja at 221, he could have lost the plot, but he stood till the end and stitched up a record eight-wicket stand of 127 runs with Washington Sundar.
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Thanks to the defense of Mohammad Siraj, Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrated his maiden Test century with a four, becoming the third youngest Indian player after Pant and Sachin Tendulkar to record Test century down under. He remained unbeaten on 105 runs in 176 balls with the help of ten fours and one six.
On his social media handle, he dedicated this hundred to his father, who was cheering for his son from the MCG stand.
“This one is for you”– Nitish Reddy penned down the Instagram story besides sharing the picture of his father. With 284 runs in the series so far, he will look to extend the purple in the fifth Sydney Test.