Nitish Kumar Reddy's debut fifty helps India avoid follow-on in Melbourne Test

The 21-year-old young Indian batter Nitish Kumar Reddy scored his first Test fifty for the team during the 4th BGT test in Melbourne, after which he is making headlines. In the six innings Reddy has played so far, this is his first test fifty.

When India was struggling at 191/6, Rishabh Pant was dismissed by Scott Boland, after which Reddy came to bat. Initially, he played steadily with Ravindra Jadeja, who was dismissed at 221/7. Later, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar forged a crucial partnership that steadily advanced the innings and kept India from having to face a follow-on. Now Reddy is the second-highest scorer in this match for India after Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed 82 runs after opening the innings and was ultimately dismissed by a run out on the second day. 

Nitish Kumar made his test debut for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the first BGT test at Perth, Reddy scored 41 and an undefeated 38. But today, the 21-year-old scored a well-deserved and under-pressure fifty, which is his first for India in test cricket. Nitish first gained attention during the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy, when he scored a triple century for Andhra Pradesh. He has played 26 first-class cricket matches, amassing 958 runs and recording one hundred and two fifties. 

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is currently tied 1-1. In the first test, the Indian team registered a dominating win under Jasprit Bumrah’s captaincy. The second match of the series was a pink-ball test, in which the hosts emerged victorious. The third test played in Gabba ended in a draw due to rain interruption. The 4th test is being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Both teams will look to win and make a lead in the series. At the time of writing, India is trailing by 176 runs, with their current score being 302/7.