Since taking the Test cap from his idol Virat Kohli ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth, Nitish Kumar Reddy has tried not to put a foot wrong in his debut series.
Doubters had questioned his place in the squad for this Australia tour, but the all-rounder has not just proved them wrong, he has turned out to be India’s most consistent batter Down Under alongside KL Rahul.
Nitish’s enterprising and gutsy batting was at its best at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday, culminating in a much-deserved maiden International hundred that kept India’s hopes alive in this fourth Test.
With overnight batters Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja not lasting long after India had resumed on 164/5 on Day III, Australia certainly thought they were in
with a chance to take a big 200-plus lead when the duo’s departure had the visitors wobbling at 221/7.
Nitish looked steady even before Jadeja had departed. And when Washington Sundar joined him for the eighth-wicket stand, it was Gabba 2021 revisited for both India and Australia.
At that Gabba Test, Australia were poised to take a big 100-plus lead, till Washington and Shardul Thakur stitched a 123-run seventh-wicket partnership — the catalyst to India’s three-wicket win in that game. Not new to such a situation, Washington (50) complemented the solid Nitish as well as he could, as the youngster from Andhra grew from strength to strength during their massive 127-run stand for the eighth wicket.
Counterpunch in the form of improvising with strokes like the reverse scoop
and other aerial shots had stood out in Nitish’s game in the preceding Tests. On
Saturday in a colosseum-like atmosphere at the MCG, with his team in a hole once again, one also witnessed Nitish’s steadfastness.
Alongside making the most of the scoring opportunities, the 21-year-old was diligent enough to deal accordingly when the Australian quicks landed it on or just outside the off-stump channel. At one point, he risked missing out on a hundred when Nathan Lyon picked up Washington and Pat Cummins dismissed Jasprit Bumrah. But Mohammed Siraj made sure he hung in for three balls of that Cummins over.
Soon after, when Scott Boland pitched it a tad fuller, Nitish’s booming drive over mid-on raced to the boundary and his dreams — also that of his father Mutyala — had come true. “There was so much tension when he was stuck in the 90s... But it’s a relief now,” a teary-eyed Mutyala told the broadcaster.
Nitish also had an emotional moment later in the evening when his father, mother Manasa and sister Tejaswi greeted him at the team hotel.
Thanks to the innings (105 batting) from India’s Test cap No.315, a talent which has
been unearthed on this tour, the visitors could reduce the deficit to 116, having reached 358/9 at stumps.