Nitish Reddy becomes the first Indian No. 8 batsman to score a Century in Australia

India’s young star Nitish Kumar Reddy created history during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Batting at number 8, he achieved three major milestones during a single match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden Test hundred

Reddy became the first Indian batsman to score a century in Australia from the number 8 position. The Andhra Pradesh all-rounder completed his century in the 115th over by scoring a boundary off Scott Boland. Nitish Reddy became the second Indian to score a Test century against Australia at number 8, after Wriddhiman Saha’s 117 in 2017.

Not only the Indian dressing room but the entire commentary panel also lit up when Nitish brought up his hundred. Adam Gilchrist, Mark Howard and Harsha Bhogle praised the young Indian as he spoke about his century in style.

Following his hundred, Reddy knelt down and looked towards the sky to seek the blessings of the almighty. The celebration was quite similar to a gesture from the popular Indian film Bahubali. Before that, Nitish Kumar Reddy had also hosted the iconic Pushpa celebration when he turned fifty.

Nitish Kumar Reddy breaks several records

Reddy achieved a notable achievement by breaking Anil Kumble’s record of highest score of 87 by an Indian at number 8 in a Test match against Australia. Kumble set this record at Adelaide Oval in 2008.

His century also made him the third-youngest Indian to score a first Test century in Australia. At a younger age, only two other Indians, Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant, achieved the goal. Tendulkar was just 18 when he scored his first Test debut in 1992. Pant, now 21, did the same in 2019.

Reddy’s performance was not only a personal triumph but also linked him with some world cricket legends. He equaled a rare record, joining the likes of England’s Michael Vaughan and West Indies’ Chris Gayle. Both Vaughan and Gayle had hit eight sixes in a series against Australia. Reddy is now the third player to join that exclusive club.

The MCG crowd witnessed Reddy’s remarkable consistency, hitting eight sixes in total during his century. This puts him in the same league as Vaughan (2003-04) and Gayle (2009-10), who scored the same number of sixes in their respective series. At the time of stumps on Day 3, Nitish Kumar Reddy was unbeaten on 105 runs.

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