Indian vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is at his peak performance and has earned his place on the Honours Board with the show of his prestigious bowling skills. Bumrah has had two five-wicket hauls at the MCG, and he is the single-ever visiting bowler who has taken five wickets on the MCG in last 15 years.

Bumrah is currently the highest wicket-taker in the five-match Test series, as he has taken 30 wickets in for matches against Australia. The pacer is unplayable in Australian conditions in red-ball format of the game.

Apart from Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy also smashed his maiden Test century with a remarkable batting display. His century did not only mark a personal achievement, but also helped India achieve a strong position in the match. The Test century by Nitish helped India come up from 191/6 and shorten the deficit. He scored 114 runs off 189 balls.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) celebrated this achievement as they made a post on their official X account, stating, “Magnificent 5 wicket haul Special Maiden 100. Vice Captain Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy’s names are etched on the Honours Board of Melbourne Cricket Ground.”

Magnificent 5️⃣-wicket haul 🤝 Special Maiden 💯

Vice Captain Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy's names are etched on the Honours Board of Melbourne Cricket Ground ✍️ 👏#TeamIndia | #AUSvIND | @Jaspritbumrah93 | @NKReddy07 pic.twitter.com/4tat5F0N6e

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 31, 2024

Australia, however, secured a 184-run victory over India in the Melbourne Test and grabbed a 2-1 lead in the series, which has also ended India’s chances of entering the World Test Championship (WTC) finals next year.

The post Despite India lost in MCG Test, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy receive MASSIVE honours appeared first on Cricket Country.

Because he can star composed under pressure, Nitish has been one of India’s go-to player during times of difficulty. Even though India lost the Melbourne Test by 184 runs, Nitish mad a massive impact as he scored his maiden Test century and scored 114 runs.

“The Melbourne Test brought to the fore one of the brightest young stars in Indian cricket, Nitish Kumar Reddy. He came to the attention of the Indian cricket fans with his performances for the Hyderabad franchise in the IPL, and while he had not done much at the first-class level, it’s a credit to Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors to have seen enough to pitchfork him into the Test arena,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

Nitish had already drawn attention of people as he player well in Perth and Adelaide, but it was his century in Melbourne which made him famous throughout the world. Though Nitish has work to do in bowling department, he has shown significant promise as a batsman.

“In his debut Test match in Perth itself, it became evident that here was a cricketer who could read situations and play accordingly. With every subsequent Test match, that impression of a good ‘cricketing head’ on his shoulders began to get stronger and stronger,” Gavaskar added.

“And in Melbourne, when India were looking down the barrel, he came through the fire with an outstanding century that has cemented his place in the team for a long time to come. Ever since the unavailability of Hardik Pandya for Test cricket, India has been looking for an all-rounder who can bowl medium pace and bat as well. Reddy’s bowling is still a work in progress, but as a batter, he is definitely better than Pandya was around the same time,” Gavaskar concluded.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has shown significant potential as a rising star for Indian cricket as he has scored 294 runs and three wickets in the four of the Test matches he has played in Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The post ‘Definitely better than Hardik Pandya…’: Sunil Gavaskar labels THIS Indian Youngster above Hardik Pandya in Test cricket appeared first on Cricket Country.

While Konstas didn’t have to wait for long before opening his account, it was Bumrah who emerged triumphant in the individual battle and dismissed the 19-year-old with an absolute ripper of a delivery.

Konstas was clean-bowled by a brilliant in-swinger which breached his defense and hit the middle stump. After taking the wicket, Bumrah seemingly mocked the young batter by copying his crowd-engaging act which he was doing repeatedly over the first three days of the game. 

Earlier during the day, India had gotten bundled out for 369 in their first innings, leaving Australia with a lead of 105 runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the star of the show for the Men in Blue with his sensational knock of 114.

For Australia, the trio of Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon all took 3 wickets each to restrict the visitors to a lower total than their first inning score of 474.

The post WATCH: Jasprit Bumrah stuns Sam Konstas, shatters the Australia batter’s stumps with a ripper appeared first on Cricket Country.

When Nitish Kumar Reddy 3as batting, one of them referred to Nathan Lyon, who was bowling at the time as bald eagle. After this got caught on the stump mic, Adam Gilchrist stated that it obviously referred to Nathan Lyon. It was at this moment that ex-Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keefe hilariously called Nathan ‘taklu’.

"Nathan Lyon is a taklu"
Kerry O'Keefe 🤣🤣🔥 pic.twitter.com/hkCmzA8aW2

— Himanshu🇮🇳 (@HIMANSHU_333333) December 28, 2024

He revealed that Indian fans call him ‘taklu’ when he posted a joke on his official X account. He then went on to search up the meaning of the word, and then understood that it meant a bald man.

“In Hindi, it’s Taklu, because I posted my joke from a cricket show, and the Indians on Twitter responded with ‘Who is the taklu?’ on the end, and I thought a picture of this shocking word about me. I looked it up in Hindi, ‘It’s a bald man’. So Nathan Lyon is a taklu,” O’Keefe said on air.

Nitish Kumar Reddy stole the light on Day 3 of the 4th Test. He hit the Australian bowlers all over the stadium as he scored his maiden Test century. He has become the second very Indian to score his maiden Test century at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The post WATCH: Ex-Australian cricketer calls Nathan Lyon as ‘Bald’ On Air: Adam Gilchrist gets left Shocked appeared first on Cricket Country.

The two players did not only save the team from a follow-on, but also carefully sculpted a match-turning partnership. The 127-run partnership between the two players bought life back into the game.

The post IND v AUS 4th Test Day 4 Live: Stumps called, Australia lead by 333 runs appeared first on Cricket Country.

The game-changing partnership for the 8th wicket was of 127 runs, which was not fazed by the massive stockpile of runs in front of them. They worked together and helped India escape the follow-on and reduced a massive amount of the enormous first-inning deficit. As early stumps were called on Day 3 with India closing on 358/9, the team also got some benefit from rain and poor lighting.

Fans are tensed that the weather might ruin the remaining two days, especially after rain disrupted play on day three. In the surprise of the fans, there is very little danger of rain on Day 4. According to weather.com, the chance of precipitation is at 5% after an hour of the day’s play.

There are no strong chance of heavy rain for the day. However, it does go up to 10% by 2:00 PM local time. As a result, spectators might expect continuous game throughout the day as the players provide the fans the value for their money.

The post Will rain Spoil the Day 4 of MCG Test? Melbourne weather for December 29 appeared first on Cricket Country.

Ravi Shastri was in the commentary box when Nitish reached the epic milestone, and could not hold back his tears. The former Indian head coach even spoke about what that knock meant for the whole country.

Emotions erupted when #NitishKumarReddy brought up his maiden Test ton! 🇮🇳💪#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 4th Test, Day 4 | SUN, 29th DEC, 4:30 AM | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/f7sS2rBU1l

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 28, 2024

An innings to remember by one and all. For a 21 year old to exhibit that kind of character under pressure brought tears to ones eyes. Pure Gold. Well played young man. God bless. #NKR #TeamIndia #AusvsIND pic.twitter.com/3qL9Ve2Nwh

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) December 28, 2024

Nitish Reddy is the third youngest batter from India after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant to have hit a Test century in Australia. He is also the first Indian to bat at no. 8 and his a Test century on Australian soil and the first visiting batter in history to score a century in the Melbourne Cricket Ground when batting at that number.

The post WATCH- Ravi Shastri could not hold his tears as Nitish Kumar Reddy secures his maiden Test century appeared first on Cricket Country.

Nitish’s mother could not hold her tears as she embraced her son. His father, Mutayala Reddy gave Nitish a warm hug, and his sister praised his willpower. It was clear from the deep emotions that this was more than a game’s achievement, but a result of years of sacrifice and preservance.

Mutayala Reddy, who had resigned from his job at Hindustan Zinc in 2016 in order to help Nitish pursue his goal of playing cricket, thought back about the hardships that the family had to face. “Nitish played really well today. I am very proud. We have struggled a lot. We are thankful to the Indian team,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
“It was not an easy journey for him. All I can say is we are very proud and very happy. He said it, and he did it,” he added.

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

Nitish Kumar Reddy is the third-youngest batter from India after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant to have scored a Test century in Australia. He is also the first Indian to bat at no. 8 and hit a Test century on Australian soil.

The post WATCH- Nitish Reddy gets Emotional after meeting his Family following maiden Test century appeared first on Cricket Country.

Nitish scoring his maiden Test century became the most popular topic to talk at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He completed his everlasting dream of making his father proud.

The moment could not have been any more special for Reddy, as he smashed his first Test century in front of his father who was present in the stands. He got visibly emotional as his son reached such a massive milestone. The whole stadium erupted in applauds as the people praised Reddy’s fantastic performance.

Reddy went to his social media account, and dedicated his maiden Test century to his father on Instagram. He shared an image of his father, who was visibly in tears, along with a caption that read “This one’s for you.”

Nitish Kumar Reddy dedicated the Hundred to his father. 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/iQRBVdXTTp

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 28, 2024

As the final wicket remains for the team, Reddy will come up to the pitch on Day 4 and aim to take India’s total to as close as possible to Australia’s first innings score of 474.

The post Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wholesome Instagram story goes viral after his match-turning century in MCG Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been an outstanding performer for India in this Test match. His main contribution with the bat have had a key role in India making a strong comeback after the team faced a long period of dominance from the Australian side over the last two days.

Nitish stepped on the pitch at a critical point of the match where India was suffering a batting collapse. Even though there was clearly a lot of pressure, he showed composure and took the sail in his own hands to take India from a serious position of 159/5 to 358/9 by the time day 3 came to an end.

The main highlight of Nitish Reddy’s outing was his handling of the Australian pacers, particularly Scott Boland. Scott praised Reddy, as he emphasized the all-rounder’s ability to score runs all around the ground. He mainly focused on how Reddy consistently performed at his best in the challenging conditions in Australia.

“He has got, I’ve played the A game against him, the PM’s game and then a couple of Tests and you see he can score all around the ground. He’s obviously a very nice player and does well in the IPL and he’s doing well here in Australian conditions as well. It looks like he’s got pretty much every shot in the book,” Boland told reporters.

Nitish Kumar Reddy concluded Day 3 with the score of 105 runs off 176 balls, which included 10 fours and a six. Though fading light forced the match to be called off early on, Reddy is left eager to continue his strong performance on Day 4.

The post ‘You see he can score…’: Australia star pacer keeps Praising Nitish Kumar Reddy for his Amazing century in Boxing-Day Test appeared first on Cricket Country.