India's rising star Nitish Kumar Reddy dedicated his maiden Test century against Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on Saturday to his father, Mutayala Reddy.
The crucial juncture at which Nitish made his first Test century came on the third day of the Boxing Day Test. Walking in with India reeling, Nitish's innings of unbeaten 105 stabilised the team and reflected temperament as well as skill under pressure. He faced 171 balls, with 10 boundaries and a six in the innings.
Taking to social media after his milestone knock during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Nitish shared an emotional photo of his father in tears, captioned: "This one's for you dad!"
Nitish entered the fray at a precarious moment for India, who were struggling at 221/7 after losing Rishabh Pant (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (17) early in the morning session. Undeterred by the mounting pressure, the 21-year-old produced an innings of incredible poise and determination, showing that he could rise to the occasion against a formidable Australian bowling lineup.
Mutayala Reddy was so confident about his son's talent that he left his stable job at Hindustan Zinc in 2016 to focus solely on Nitish's cricketing career. This came with financial hardships, sleepless nights, and countless sacrifices, but Mutayala never wavered in his commitment.
My father quit his job for me," Nitish revealed in a BCCI video. "I saw him crying once due to the financial stress we were going through, and that changed something in me. I felt that I had to take cricket seriously—not just for myself but for him. I still remember giving him my first jersey and seeing the happiness on his face. That moment became my motivation.".
The innings also reflected the remarkable consistency Reddy had displayed throughout the series. Before his MCG heroics, he had made useful contributions with scores of 41, 38 not out, 42, and 16 across five innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India still trails by 116 runs, and Reddy's role will remain critical as he resumes batting with Mohammed Siraj on Day 4.
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