'I saw my father crying due to financial crisis...': How Nitish Kumar ...

But the all-rounder had other plans in this tricky situation, coming into bat with a rescue plan in his mind. He displayed calm and composure right from the start, and faced deliveries on their merit. Meanwhile, he also received support from Washington Sundar, and the pair began the fightback for the visitors. The home side’s bowling department maintained their lines and lengths, but couldn’t deal with Nitish and Sundar’s adaptability skills.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar Reddy youngest Indian centurion after Tendulkar, Pant in Australia; country's first Down Under at No.8

Sundar lost his wicket in the final ball of the 112th over, departing for 50 off 162 balls. His replacement, Jasprit Bumrah, failed to contribute with the bat, leaving for a three-ball duck. With Mohammed Siraj coming into bat, Nitish kept strike in the 115th over, which began with two dots. Then in the third delivery, he launched Scott Boland past mid-on for a four and got to his maiden international ton. Due to bad light, play was stopped after the 116th over, and then rain arrived. After sometime, the umpires decided to call off play for the day, with India reaching 358/9 at Stumps, in response to Australia’s first innings total of 474, and trail by 116 runs.

Who is Nitish Kumar Reddy - Player profile

Nitish is a right-handed batter, and can also bowl medium pace as an all-rounder. He represents Andhra in domestic cricket, and plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. He made his first-class debut on January 27, 2020 for Andhra in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, and made his List A debut on February 20, 2021 in the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy. The all-rounder made his T20 debut on November 4, 2021, for Andhra, playing in the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Due to his performances in IPL 2024, he received his maiden India call-up for T20Is, and made his debut in that format on October 6, 2024. Meanwhile, he made his Test cricket debut on November 22, 2024, in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Nitish reportedly began playing cricket at the age of five, and would visit the Hindustan Zinc grounds to watch elders play cricket. His father Mutyala Reddy is a former Hindustan Zinc employee. His father quit his job, so that he could help his son with his promising cricket career.

In an interview with Star Sports, Nitish revealed that initially he wasn’t serious about cricket, but an incident involving his father led him to take the sport seriously. “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... that my father made the sacrifices and you play cricket just for fun.”

“At that time, I became serious and I got the growth. I worked hard and it paid off,” he added.

Nitish was handed his Test debut cap from his idol Virat Kohli. Recently, a selfie of Reddy went viral on social media, in which he could be seen slyly clicking a photo with Kohli, without the veteran’s knowledge. During the ongoing series, Reddy explained the photo and said that he felt he wouldn’t get an opportunity to take the picture, so he decided to click it himself.

He also revealed that he would calculate his age to be sure that Kohli doesn’t retire before his India debut. After shifting from Udaipur when his father quit his job, Nitish attended VDCA camps in Vizag, and was initially trained there. During U-12 and U-14 matches, he got spotted by former BCCI selector MSK Prasad, and then got selected to train in the Andhra Cricket Association academy in Kadapa.

He proved that Prasad was right with his decision, with a sensational season at the 2017-18 Vijay Merchant Trophy. It included a phenomenal 441 vs Nagaland, and the quadruple ton came in only 345 balls. Meanwhile, he ended the competition with 1237 runs at an average of 176.41, a tournament record, and also picked 26 wickets. His performances saw him receive the BCCI Best Cricket in the U-16 category Jagmohan dalmiya award for the 2017-18 season.