Mumbai: Nitish Kumar Reddy had wowed cricket pundits and fans with his batting skills in the first three Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But he reserved his best for the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), one the biggest and most iconic cricket stadiums in the world.
Going into bat with Team India struggling at 191/6 in reply to Australia’s mammoth first-innings total of 474, the 21-year-old lad from Visakhapatnam notched up his first Test half century and went on to convert it to his maiden ton in front of 83,000 admiring fans on Day 3 of the fourth Test.
As India and the cricket world applauded the new star, and his father cried like a child in the galleries, Nitish celebrated in style after reaching his milestones.
Nitish, who had three 40s and an unbeaten 38 in the previous Tests, crossed the first landmark by slashing Mitchell Starc for a boundary to reach 50. He acknowledged his teammates’ and the crowd’s cheers before striking Allu Arjun’s signature ‘Pushpa’ pose with his bat. Watch the video clip of the celebration which has gone viral:
Nitish Kumar Reddy hits his maiden Test century and receives a standing ovation from the MCG crowd ❤️ #AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/Vbqq5C26gz
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2024
And once he reached the coveted three-figure mark with a glorious lofted drive off Scott Boland, Nitish took off his helmet and placed it on top of the bat handle before going down on one knee to recreate the iconic pose by the hero in the movie ‘Baahubali’.
Here’s the moment:
PUSHPA CELEBRATION From Nitish Kumar Reddy🔥
The shot, the celebration,everything was perfect 💥#NitishKumarReddy#INDvsAUS
— For A Reason (@ForAReasoninx_) December 28, 2024
The calm and composed Nitish, who has now top-scored in four of India’s six innings in this series, became the first Indian No. 8 batter to hit a Test century in Australia, and also the first visiting cricketer ever to hit a century at MCG while batting at the 6-down spot.
What a moment this for the youngster!
A maiden Test 100 at the MCG, it does not get any better than this 👏👏#TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/KqsScNn5G7
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 28, 2024
Nitish and Washington Sundar, who made a fighting 50, put on 127 runs for the seventh wicket to guide India to 358/9 at stumps on Saturday. Nitish is still at the crease unbeaten on 105 (176 balls, 10×4, 1×6), with last man Mohammad Siraj for company.
India still trail by 116 runs, but the two youngsters have given them a fighting chance of saving the game.
