Young star Nitish Kumar Reddy once again rose to the occasion and played a knock that rescued the Indian cricket team and gave them a fightback chance. He was one of the most consistent players with bat for India in this series and made some crucial contributions down the order throughout this tour. However, he was unable to make those knocks big but in the Boxing Day Test at MCG, the young all-rounder smashed his maiden Test century.
Nitish Reddy's father gets emotional
Nitish Reddy's father Mutyala Reddy who was sitting among the spectators was extremely emotional after watching his son reach the epic milestone. He appeared really nervous as his son was getting near the ton and could not even sit when Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah but could not hold back his tears when Nitish finally completed the much-awaited hundred.
"For our family, it's a special day and we cannot forget this day in our life. He has been performing well since the age group of 14-15 and now in international cricket, it's a very special feeling. (On what were his emotions when Nitish was on 99 with one one wicket remaining) I was very tensed. Only the last wicket was remaining. Thankfully Siraj managed to survive," Nitish Reddy's father told Adam Gilchrist who interviewed him after the century for the official broadcaster.
Reddy's historic ton
Nitish Reddy is the third youngest batter from India after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant to hit a Test century in Australia. He is also the first Indian to bat at number 8 and hit a red-ball ton on Australian soil and the first visiting batter in history to hit a century in MCG while batting at that spot.
Reddy and Washington Sundar's 127-run partnership revived India from a precarious situation and ensured the hosts would not squash them. While Reddy hit a ton, Sundar smashed a crucial fifty. Their partnership changed the tide of the match. Australia despite the new ball failed to stop them and break the partnership. Their stand is the second-highest 8th wicket stand for an Indian pair on Australian soil. Only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh's 129-run partnership.