Young Nitish Kumar Reddy rescued India with his maiden Test century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Reddy who is used to batting up the order in domestic cricket is batting at no.7 for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri feels this is the last time Reddy will bat at no.7 in Tests.
"I feel that the way he's batted, this is the last time he will bat at 7. To get the balance of the side, you need him to go higher up the order, either 5 or 6 and then you have the opportunity of playing 5 bowlers to take the 20 wickets, and he's given that kind of confidence to the selectors and the team management and the captain," Ravi Shastri said during the tea break on Day 3 of fourth Test.
Shastri wants Reddy to bat at no.6 as it provide better balance to the team. Also, it will help India play an addition bowler in the side considering Reddy has not been as impressive with the ball in his debut series.
"Reddy is fully capable of batting in the top 6. Then it changes the whole balance of the game," he added. "You go to Sydney with him batting in the top 6, and you're playing five bowlers."
As bad light played spoilsport in the third session, India were 358/9 at the end of day's play. Reddy was batting on 105 from 176 balls with Mohammed Siraj on the other end. India are still trailing by 116 runs. Reddy will look to attack in first session of Day 4 to get some quick runs.
Reddy scripts history
Reddy also scripted history as he became the first visiting batter to score a Test century at MCG while batting at no.8. Overall, he is the sixth no.8 batter to achieve the feat against Australia. The 21-year-old batted at no.8 as on Day 2, Akash Deep was promoted up the order as nightwatchman. However, Deep coulld not fulfill the job and departed for a 13-ball duck to Scott Boland.
Reddy's chance to break record
Reddy also has a chance to break the record for the highest score by a visiting no.8 batter in Australia. The record belongs to West Indies' Clairmonte Depeiaza who scored 122 in 1955. On Australian soil, the highest score belongs to England's Matt Prior who scored 118 runs in Sydney.