India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy brought up his maiden Test century under immense pressure during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne. It was a special moment for Nitish, who had his father Mutyala Reddy watching from the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) stands. Having come in to bat with India under the pump at 191/6, the 21-year-old completed a stunning hundred, and it seemed as if his father was living through the journey with him, with cameras showing his father praying in the stands.
As Nitish completed his century, his father erupted into celebration and was also in tears.
The duo – Nitish and his father – have been through a journey of struggles and sacrifices, with his father even leaving his job to support Reddy’s cricket career.
Absolute stuff of dreams
His father is in tears
Nitish Kumar Reddy what a sensational knock
— (@DilipVK18) December 28, 2024
Moment of the Match
The way Nitish kumar Reddy father is praying for him pic.twitter.com/58kytxWy7r
— The StatPadder (@The_statpadder) December 28, 2024
“My father left his job for me and there has been a lot of sacrifice behind my story. One day, I saw him crying because of the financial problems we were facing, and I was like, this is not how you can be. Then I got serious. I gave my first jersey to him and saw the happiness in his face,” Reddy had told BCCI.TV.
Father of Nitish Kumar Reddy in tears pic.twitter.com/NAxFLhEywn
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 28, 2024
Brought into the Australia tour squad as a complete rookie, Nitish Reddy has displayed that he has what it takes to thrive at the highest level.
Reddy contributed valuable cameos of forties and thirties in the first three Tests, mostly having to bat with the lower middle order and tailenders. Here, with the support of Washington Sundar, Reddy completed his maiden Test half-century, and went on to convert it to a hundred.
When Reddy walked in, India were trailing Australia’s total of 474 by a mammoth 283 runs and staring at a follow-on. However, Reddy’s knock and a 127-run stand with Washington Sundar bailed India out of deep trouble.
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