New Delhi. Nitish Kumar Reddy was exploring India on Australia tour. This young batsman was given his debut against Australia in Perth with the hope that he would play the role of the fourth pacer in the team and also score some runs. Nitish Reddy performed beyond expectations. He was the highest run scorer after Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Nitish impressed so much with his batting that legends like Ravi Shastri started saying that Nitish should bat in the top-6.
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s performance reminds of legends like Steve Waugh and Steve Smith. Such legends who started their career as bowling all-rounders and then became known as legendary batsmen in the world. Take the example of Steve Smith. Steve Smith, who made his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s, got a chance to bat at number eight or nine in the first four Tests. He batted at number 7 or above in 6 of the first 10 Tests and batted at number 6 in the remaining 4. During this period, he took 3 wickets against Pakistan at Lord’s and 4 wickets against England.
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Steve Smith plays an innings of 138 runs at the Oval in the 12th Test of his career and after that does not look back. He scored three more centuries in the next six tests. In this way, the player who gets a place in the playing eleven as a spin all-rounder, scores 4 centuries in his first 18 tests. Today he has 34 test centuries, equal to Sunil Gavaskar. Australian legend Steve Waugh also has to wait 4 years after his debut to score a century. But when he retires, his image is that of a tough batsman, who once stands at the crease, it is difficult for even the best players to get him out.
India’s Ravi Shastri is also among such players, who surprised everyone after his debut in international cricket. He started his career batting at number nine. After this, he improves his batting so much that he becomes the opener of Team India.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made his debut in Perth on 22 November and was India’s top scorer in the very first innings. India was limited to 150 runs in this innings, of which 41 runs were from Nitish Kumar Reddy. He also took this brilliant start to its conclusion. Nitish Reddy scored 298 runs in 9 innings in the 5-match series at an average of 37.25 and with the help of one century. Apart from this, he also took 4 wickets. This performance shows that in Nitish Reddy, India has got a batsman who can also bowl pace. If he continues his performance then the Indian team will get the balance which it has been looking for for a long time.
Tags: India cricket team, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Steve Smith, Team india
FIRST PUBLISHED: January 6, 2025, 15:08 IST