Oh, what drama! The heartbeat of the whole of India was beating 10 clicks faster as Nitish Kumar Reddy was stuck at 99 and Jasprit Bumrah was dismissed by Pat Cummins. Three balls were left in the 114th over, and on strike was Mohammed Siraj. The first ball whizzed past the number eleven’s bat, and Siraj had no clue about it.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, a centurion at 21
Cummins gave a wry smile while Nitish Reddy, his father, and everyone watching had their hearts in their mouths. Luckily, Siraj survived two more balls, and in the next over, the all-rounder lofted a good length ball of middle and leg stump over mid-on’s head and scored his maiden Test century.
Nitish Reddy’s nervous nineties
The hundred was on everyone’s eye. Before the last session, he was on 85(119). Nervous, Nitish Reddy batted slower than he ever had in his short career. The three digits were clearly on his mind. From a strike rate of 71, by the time he reached those triple digits, it was under 60.
Of course, no one cared about how fast or slow he was batting. One just feared that the moment doesn’t get to him and he doesn’t become a victim of the nervous nineties. But slowly he was getting there. Nitish Reddy was on 97 when Washington Sundar departed.
Emotions overflow
When Siraj escaped, Nitish Reddy looked up to heaven, thanking the almighty for giving him a chance to hit those runs and get his maiden Test century. That shot made the entire crowd erupt; his father was crying in the stands, and Nitish Reddy pulled out another fancy celebration.
Moments later, the play was halted due to bad light, and Nitish Reddy walked back to the pavillion with a standing ovation and his teammate standing to welcome him. A day to remember for not just the all-rounder but everyone who was a batting masterclass from the 21-year-old who joined the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant with a unique record.
