Nitish Reddy, the 21-year-old who seems to hold more experience than any other experienced player in the Indian team, smashed his first test century at Melbourne on Day 3, in front of his father. The moment he took the hundreth run, he kneeled down, placed his helmet on his bat planted on the ground, and made the very trademark show of showing the bat to the stands. It had been Reddy who stepped up every time for India when the top order failed, and even today, when the seniors and the experienced failed, he did not dissapoint. From having a Pushpa Raj celebration while completing his half ton to actually not bending down the Aussie attack, Reddy stood tall. The century came in the 115th over, when he drove Scott Boland over the non-striker's head for four. The camera throughout has been focusing on his father in the front of the stand, who was probably praying since Reddy was at his 90s and overjoyed as he hit the ton. Fans came from everywhere congratulating him, with Mohammad Siraj giving a hug to Reddy. NITISH CENTURY!A glorious lofted drive brings up the milestone!His dad in tears in the stands, what a moment 🙌#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/W1SJNHlN4J — 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 28, 2024 Mixed emotions for NKR The first controversy broke out when the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir decided to have Nitish in the team, ignoring Shardul Thakur. And the bloke has been proving GG's words since the first day at Perth. Every inning that ended in the 40s due to a lack of partners finally got shape at the Melbourne. Major courtesy to Washington Sundar, who stood there with him until he made his half century. Read also: Why India Chose Nitish Kumar Reddy for Boxing Day Test However, the tension arrived when NKR lost Jasprit Bumrah for an edge when the former was batting at 99. Bumrah came when Nitish was 3 runs short of 100. Yet he decided to stick around, not giving the strike to Bumrah, knowing that there's only Siraj left to bat. Some brain-fade moment when Reddy took two runs, leaving Bumrah baren to Pat Cummins. The frustration of taking two runs in the last ball was visible, and the unwanted happened as Bumrah left for a duck, leaving Reddy disappointed. Even the Aussie commentators were heard praying to the Cricket god to be kind to him. And Siraj kept the hopes. He defended the first ball, kneeled down for the second, and defended the third, which is the last ball of the over. The umpires even waited with the light meter, as Reddy was a run short of the most awaiting century. The crowd went wild, forgetting the hundred of runs left for India to cover the trail. And to everyone's pleasure, Reddy achieved it. With that, he saved his coach's pride, his father's sacrifice, and the cap his idolo Virat Kohli gave to him on his debut, and somewhat stabilized India before Day 4 starts. Yes, the Hyderabad prodigy, Nitish Kumar Reddy has arrived!