[Watch] Nitish Kumar Reddy’s personal highest score leaves interviewer shocked during BGT 2024-25 1st Test
All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy earned his maiden Test cap after being named in the Indian playing XI for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test in Perth. During the match, the talented youngster shocked an interviewer by sharing his personal highest score.
The interviewer asked Nitish if, like other young Indian batters, he too scored big hundreds in junior cricket. The host was astonished after knowing that the 21-year-old responded by saying that his best individual score was 442.
Nitish grabbed headlines with his incredible performance in the Vijay Merchant Trophy in 2017-18. He chalked up 1237 runs across eight innings at an awe-inspiring average of 176.71 in the tournament. He may have forgotten his best individual score as he had scored 441 and not 442 against Nagaland.
Speaking about the knock, Nitish said during the interview with Fox Sports:
"442 is my highest score. (It was in) Under-16 domestic level in the quarter-finals, I scored against Nagaland. 442, that's my highest score."
Nitish Kumar Reddy was India's top performer with the bat in the first innings of the Perth Test. While the visitors were bowled out for a paltry score of 150 after electing to bat first, the debutant impressed by playing an impactful 41-run knock.
"He batted with a lot of grit and determination" - Aakash Chopra on Nitish Kumar Reddy's 41-run knock
Former India opener Aakash Chopra seemed mightly impressed by Nitish Reddy's batting exploits in the first innings of the Perth Test. He suggested that India were still in the game only because of crucial contributions from Nitish and Rishabh Pant (37).
Speaking in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:
"You had chances of playing Nitish Kumar Reddy against New Zealand. You could have got him to make his debut against Bangladesh as well. It's okay if you didn't do that, but you could have done it against New Zealand. However, the way he has performed, it's thumbs up with both hands."
"Nitish Kumar Reddy played well. He batted with a lot of grit and determination, as they say guts and glory. You have to work hard for that, take a few balls on the body. Suddenly if you realize where this match is standing, it's only because of Rishabh Pant and Nitish's partnership and his 41 runs in the end," he added.
Indian opener dominated the proceedings on Day 2 of the Perth Test. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 90 and 62, respectively. The side finished 172/0 at the stumps, leading Australia by 218 runs.