Nitish Kumar Reddy stands tall for India at MCG, slams maiden international hundred during IND vs AUS 4th Test

Nitish Kumar Reddy stood tall against all odds as the 21-year-old scored his maiden Test hundred at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) during the ongoing fourth Test on Saturday. Coming into the middle after the fall of Rishabh Pant with India reeling at 191/6, Reddy took on the mantle and along with Washington Sundar, forged 127 runs for the eighth wicket at a packed MCG.

In the process, the Andhra Pradesh all-rounder, at 21 years and 216 days, became the third-youngest Indian to score a maiden Test century on Australian soil. Sachin Tendulkar (18 years and 256 days in 1992) and Rishabh Pant (21 years and 92 days, 2019) are the only two younger Indian players to have scored maiden hundreds in Australia.

In fact, only two players have scored centuries batting at No. 8 or lower younger than Reddy - Abul Hasan (20 years and 108 days) and Ajay Ratra (20 years and 150 days).

Thanks to the Nitish-Sundar stand, India not only avoided the follow-on but also managed to inch closer to the Australian total after starting the day 310 runs in arrears and with their top five batters back in dressing room. At stumps, India were trailing the hosts by 116 runs.

Stumps were called early due to bad light

Reddy reached the three-figure mark with a fine lofted shot over mid-on off Scott Boland, and his father's presence at the MCG made it even more memorable for the youngster. During his knock, Reddy showed the team's established batters how to get the job done.

Earlier, India, who started the day on 164/5, saw Rishabh Pant (28) throw away his wicket at a crucial juncture before Ravindra Jadeja was trapped lbw for 17. Meanwhile, stumps were called early on Day 4 due to bad light and dark clouds.