Published - | Updated - December 31, 2024 02:50 pm
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Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar:
21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy is making a good name for himself in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.This young player has emerged as a troubleshooter who has repeatedly pulled India out of difficult situations. In the recently concluded Melbourne Test which India lost by 184 runs, Nitish Kumar Reddy kept India in the match by scoring his first century in the first innings.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was very impressed with the determination of Nitish Kumar Reddy and called him one of the brightest young stars of Indian cricket. And he also said that Nitish Kumar Reddy’s batting is better than Hardik Pandya when he started playing for Team India.
In the Melbourne Test, Nitish Kumar Reddy came to bat at number 8 in the first innings and helped India recover from defeat by scoring 114 runs. The presence of the young player’s father at the MCG made the moment more special. The Melbourne Test brought Nitish Kumar Reddy, one of the brightest young stars of Indian cricket, to the fore. He came to the attention of Indian cricket fans with his performances for the Hyderabad franchise in the IPL and had not done much at the first-class level but it is to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors’ credit that they saw enough in him to bring him into the Test arena.
It was evident in his first Test match itself in Perth that this is a cricketer who can read situations and play accordingly. With each next Test match, the stamp of a good cricketer on his shoulders grew stronger.
Nitish Kumar Reddy had earlier played valuable knocks of 40 runs in Perth and Adelaide. But he has caught the attention of the whole world by scoring centuries against Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland in Melbourne.
But the 21-year-old would want to improve his bowling as he has underperformed with the ball. Performing better with the ball will help him emerge as a true match-winning all-rounder for India. And he has cemented his place in the team by scoring a brilliant century in Melbourne when India were in trouble.
Sunil Gavaskar said that this is a long-lasting experience. Since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India is looking for an all-rounder who can do both medium pace bowling and batting. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s bowling still needs improvement but as a batsman he is better than Hardik Pandya. Nitish Kumar Reddy has scored 294 runs and taken 3 wickets in four Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Nitish Kumar Reddy:
We will come out strong and rectify the mistakes of the first innings. We have to take the last wicket first and then bat accordingly.
Nitish Kumar Reddy on Saturday hit his maiden hundred for India and scored 114 before he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon in the first session on the fourth day. The all-rounder’s partnership with Washington Sundar helped India get close to Australia’s first innings score to set up a perfect finish in Melbourne.
Just when the 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy was inching closer to his maiden Test hundred, India lost two wickets in a row which left the all-rounder stranded on 90 with Mohammed Siraj. However, the Indian pacer handled a tough over from Pat Cummins to ensure that the 21-year-old completed his hundred.
