When Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah were dismissed on Saturday, the prospect of Nitish Kumar Reddy achieving a memorable Test century suddenly seemed uncertain. The cameras captured his anxious father, but he wasn’t the only member of the Reddy family feeling the nerves at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the fourth Test between India and Australia.
“We were praying to God for it to be a century. We were very tense when the score was at 96, 99 but when he hit the century, we were speechless. We were very happy and proud,” said Nitish’s sister Tejaswi.
“It felt like it wasn’t him playing the game but me and my family playing the game.”
Tejaswi highlighted that Nitish’s rise in cricket was the result of his unwavering dedication to the sport and their father’s sacrifices. She shared how Nitish had vowed to succeed in cricket, a promise he fulfilled when India needed a hero to rescue them in the Melbourne Test after a shaky first-innings performance, where the team had slumped to 221 for seven.
𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.
The Reddy family has been a bundle of emotions today. Witness the magical moment as they embrace Nitish after he wowed the world with his extraordinary maiden Test century at the MCG.
A day etched in memories… pic.twitter.com/uz9mrASuRm
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 28, 2024
“It’s been a long journey. It’s been a rough path. When my father sacrificed his job, there were many people who didn’t support it and said that he was making the wrong decision.”
”But my father was sure that he was making a good decision. He always supported my brother and my brother kept his promise and proved himself. It’s a combination of my father’s sacrifice and my brother’s dedication,” said Reddy.
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s father pays respect to Sunil Gavaskar
On Sunday, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar told Mutyala, father of India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, that his sacrifices had gifted the nation “a gem in cricket.”
Nitish’s brilliant maiden Test century against Australia reduced India’s first-innings deficit to 105 runs, preventing it from exceeding 200 after they were struggling at 221 for seven in response to Australia’s 474.
“With the sacrifices you’ve made, I have tears in my eyes. India has found a cricketing gem because of you,” Gavaskar said.
Nitish’s mother, also overcome with emotion, expressed disbelief at her son’s performance on such a grand stage, calling it a “big innings.”
Nitish Kumar Reddy’s family meet the great Sunil Gavaskar @abcsport #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/hUBOghxM2e
— Ben Cameron (@BenCameron23) December 29, 2024
Mutyala, overwhelmed by emotions on Saturday as his son scored a resilient century to keep India in the game, expressed his gratitude to everyone and bowed to touch Gavaskar’s feet as a gesture of respect.
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