NEW DELHI: Team India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden Test hundred during the third day of the fourth Test against Australia captivated cricketing circles, with his determined knock earning high praise from former India internationals.
Coming into bat at a precarious 191/6, Reddy produced a remarkable unbeaten 105 off 176 deliveries, guiding India to 358/9 by stumps, just 116 runs behind Australia’s formidable first-innings total of 474.
Reddy’s partnership with Washington Sundar, worth 127 runs for the eighth wicket, proved instrumental in India not only avoiding the follow-on but also clawing their way back into contention.
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Speaking on Star Sports, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his admiration for Reddy’s innings, marvelling at how a player with a modest first-class average of 22 could showcase such maturity and skill on the grand stage.
“Both (Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy) play T20 cricket. In fact, Nitish was retained in the IPL by his franchise but the hunger for test cricket is still alive. Today, after the break he scored 22 runs in 16 overs and he knew that he cannot afford to lose his wicket. They way he was leaving the ball, when I see these things in modern day cricketers then I feel that Indian cricket is in safe hands,” Manjrekar noted.
“Test cricket always seems like an old-fashioned format and our new-fashioned boys are craving for the test match success. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and now Nitish Kumar Reddy, the way they have left the deliveries pitching outside off. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s first-class average is 22 but today the depth that he has portrayed in his batting I don’t think I have seen something like this from a player with such an experience.”
Irfan Pathan echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the historical significance of the duo’s effort. He praised their ability to build a chanceless partnership under pressure, which not only frustrated Australia’s bowlers but also swung momentum in India’s favour.
“The biggest thing is that there has never been an instance where the number 8 and 9 batsman in the Indian team have played over 300 deliveries, this has never happened in the history. This brilliant partnership is the reason that India is still alive in this test, because if both of them had not played 300 deliveries then Australia would have been in the dominating position. We would have been talking about how Australia would be looking forward to finish the game in the 4th day itself but these players have changed the situation,” Pathan pointed out.
Through intelligent strike rotation and timely boundaries, Reddy and Sundar demonstrated the importance of partnerships in Test cricket.
As India head into Day 4, their resilience provides the visitors with hope of salvaging a result, with Nitish Kumar Reddy now a beacon of promise for India’s future in the longest format.
