Some individual performances truly shone out, even though the Indian team’s 3-1 series loss to Australia may have ended their ten-year domination in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. One such instance was when Nitish Kumar Reddy played in his first Test series. During the five games in the series, the all-rounder took five wickets with the ball and scored 298 runs.
The highlight for Reddy, though, was the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where he scored an incredible century in the Boxing Day Test. Fans and pundits alike praised Reddy for his dominance on Australian soil, even though his knock did not prevent India from losing the match.
On Thursday, January 9, the cricketer returned to India as the series came to a conclusion. Locals in his hometown of Visakhapatnam greeted Reddy like a hero when he arrived at the airport. After a triumphant tour, fans greeted the artist with garlands and cheered his arrival. While the supporters attempted to catch a glimpse of the next big star all-rounder in Indian cricket, his father Mutyalu was also there, sitting behind him in the jeep.
Check out the video of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s welcome:
India allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy received a hero’s welcome at the Vizag airport upon his homecoming after a successful tour of Australia, where he scored a maiden Test 💯 at the MCG ##BGT2025 pic.twitter.com/b5w9uV3dUF
— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) January 9, 2025
In his first-ever Test series while representing India, Nitish Reddy has already made history. Not only was he the first hitter to get a century at No. 8, but at 21 years and 256 days, he became the third-youngest Indian batter to reach a century in Australia, after only Sachin Tendulkar (18 years 256 days) and Rishabh Pant (21 years 92 days).
The Vizag-born player, meanwhile, is a strong candidate to join India’s Champions Trophy team, which starts in February. Reddy may receive an ODI call-up as well, to serve as the backup all-rounder alongside vice-captain Hardik Pandya, following successful T20I and Test debuts. The squad announcement is scheduled for Sunday, January 12.
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