NEW DELHI: Young Nitish Kumar Reddy was hailed by the great Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday for producing "one of the greatest Test knocks" during the third day of the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne.
Gavaskar had nothing but appreciation for young Reddy, who underwent adversity to score his first Test century.
Reddy, 21, struck an unbeaten 105 off 176 balls as he walked in at the loss of the team's sixth wicket with just 191 on the board. He and Washington Sundar (50 off 162 balls) shared a record partnership of 127 runs for the eighth wicket.
"This century by Nitish Kumar Reddy must rank as one of the greatest hundreds in the history of Indian cricket," he said on air.
Reddy is the star of Indian cricket, according to Gavaskar.
"This is the first Test hundred and he is going to score many more in the near future. I am expecting to see him among the runs in the future. He is a star of the Indian cricket," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
The 21-year-old all-rounder has a bright future if he stays true to himself, the former India skipper continued.
"However, he will have to remember the sacrifices made by his father and other members of the family. Nitish is here because of the Indian cricket and he will have to make sure that he doesn't take Indian cricket for granted. If he stays true to himself, a successful career lies ahead of him," he added.
After losing Rishabh Pant (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (17) early on Saturday, India managed to fend off the follow-on danger and hold Australia at bay throughout the day because of Reddy's unbeaten century.
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