Nitish Kumar Reddy commemorates Boxing Day Test century, pays tribute to father's sacrifices along his journey

New Delhi: Nitish Kumar Reddy created history by scoring his maiden Test century in the Boxing Day Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series. In a crucial moment for the Indian team, Nitish's century injected a sense of optimism during the fourth Test match in Melbourne.

He made a steady 114 in a composed innings amid intense pressure. His contribution guided India to a total of 369, rescuing them from a precarious 221/7. Reddy has shared his thoughts on his performance in the Boxing Day Test and expressed gratitude for the support from his father, Mutyalu.

“Some people doubted me, like a youngster who played IPL, can’t perform in such a big series. I know a lot of people did talk like that,” Reddy said at the end of the fourth day of the MCG Test.

“I just want to make them feel wrong about what they have said about me and that’s what I am doing, I want people to know that I am here to give my 100 per cent for the Indian team,” he added.

He has been on the rise in Indian cricket in the last few months. He had made his T20I debut against Bangladesh in October. But his journey has been far long. “I guess for you guys, it is like one or two months. For me, it’s like, I can see my my past two to three years. How hard I’ve been working on my batting and bowling,” he said.

He also opened up on how he worked in the off-season in IPL on his batting. “After the first IPL season, I realised what I have to improve my batting and I came up with a plan. When I got the off-season, I worked a lot on my batting and that’s what is giving results now. It’s not about the one month and two months, I have done the work from last two-three years to be here,” he said.

Reddy also opened up on his father’s support and sacrifice in his journey. “To be honest, my father had 25 years of service in central government and when I was a nobody, and hadn’t played a state-level game, the first person who believed in me was my father,” he was a touch emotional.

“He believed in me and he resigned from his job for me. He would take me to the ground, gym, always he wanted to be with me. He made a lot of sacrifices. If I have to tell about him, time won’t be sufficient but I am so grateful to have a father like him,” he said.

He also spoke about the compliments he received from Virat Kohli following his century. Kohli has been Reddy’s childhood idol. “I have been watching Virat from my childhood. He is my idol and now finally I have played with him. When he scored a hundred in Perth, I was at the non-striker’s end. I felt so happy.

“Now, I scored a century, he appreciated me. He came to me and said that ‘you really played well, you got the team back in the game’. I always dreamt about that moment and finally when he talked with me, that’s the best moment for me,” Reddy said.