Nitish Kumar Reddy impresses Australian great as a Test match cricketer: ‘He came in taking wickets…’

Nitish Kumar Reddy got off to a promising start in his Test career with an impressive 41-run innings during his debut match at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Making his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opener, Nitish's performance turned heads and showed his potential on a challenging batting surface. However, questions arose about his red-ball credentials following his underwhelming performances in the recent unofficial Test between India A and Australia A. Nitish struggled to make an impact, managing a top score of only 38 runs and claiming just one wicket in four innings. It was not the ideal outing for the young cricketer, but he will be looking to bounce back and prove his worth in the upcoming matches.

However, he managed to shut his critics with a gutsy knock under pressure when nothing was going in India's favour. He came out to bat when India were six down for just 73 as Australia were looking to wrap their innings under 100. The 21-year-old joined hands with Rishabh Pant and played some good shots, including a few reverse sweeps to Nathan Lyon to keep the scoreboard moving and help India post 150.

Meanwhile, legendary Australia wicketkeeper batter Adam Gilchrist reserved high praise for the Indian youngster and said he did look like a Test player in the middle.

“I though he looked every inch a Test match cricketer out there. He came in with wickets tumbling and had to try and forge a partnership with the ever-dangerous Rishabh Pant. He settled into his innings well. He was positive against Nathan Lyon, who has an outstanding Test record at Perth stadium,” Gilchrist said on Cricbuzz.

With just 23 first-class games under his belt, Nitish's inclusion in the BGT series turned out to be a surprise for many but Nitish proved them wrong.

"So, the momentum shifted somewhat when they were together. That's an exciting start for the young man," the 53-year-old on to add.

Gilchrist was also impressed with Rishabh Pant for his positive batting approach despite the wickets kept tumbling from the other end.

"While Rishabh was there, anything was possible by way of a total. Wickets falling around him always seem to draw a positive response from him. I love watching him play. We're so excited to see him, given the history and everything - the extraordinary accident that he recovered from," Gilchrist, who batted in a similar mode to the Indian keeper, stated.