On the third day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Nitish Kumar Reddy achieved his first Test half-century with a brilliant cover drive off left-arm bowler Mitchell Starc. The all-rounder from Visakhapatnam celebrated this milestone by mimicking Allu Arjun’s “Pushpa Raj” gesture as the ball reached the boundary.
Nitish Kumar Reddy batted under pressure and demonstrated a tough and determined performance, reaching his half-century in 81 balls. With seven wickets down, India fought to avoid the follow-on by forming a crucial middle-order partnership with Washington Sundar. Throughout the series, Nitish Kumar has consistently played well, scoring important runs when the top order struggled.
He scored 41 and 38 not out in the first Test match in Perth, followed by scores of 42 in both innings of the Day-Night Test in Adelaide. Although he managed only 16 runs in the third Test at the Gabba, he celebrated his half-century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In this series, he has recorded several scores in the 40s, but he finally converted one into a half-century.
