Good things come for those who persist. It sure did for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who notched his maiden Test century, and fell to the ground in gratitude, celebrating his feat during Day 3 of the Boxing Da

Good things come for those who persist. It sure did for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who notched his maiden Test century, and fell to the ground in gratitude, celebrating his feat during Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Saturday.

When it seemed like India were on the ropes, with Australia running through India’s top order, Nitish Kumar Reddy came into the crease to establish order and power India to a recovery.

Alongside Washington Sundar, Nitish notched up a historic partnership for the 8th wicket among Indians, 127 runs together, the second-highest partnership, as the duo slashed their way to safety.

Nitish, in particular, would go on to clobber the Aussies at will, and after a nail-biting wait, his moment would arrive, as he drove Scott Boland down the ground to reach his maiden Test century, collapsing to his knees in celebration.

Nitish’s fiery innings would be peppered with 10 fours and a six, as the Andhra Pradesh all-rounder would help whittle India’s deficit to a great extent.

With his century, Nitish joined the ranks of icons such as Virat Kohli and Virender Sehwag, becoming just the fifth batter to score a century in the Boxing Day Test for India at the MCG.

Reddy, who crossed the triple-figure mark with a four on the 171st ball he faced during his stay at the crease on Saturday, is overall the 10th Indian batter to score a century in the Boxing Day Test.

The century by Reddy on Saturday has made him the ninth Indian batter after Vinoo Mankad, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Kohli, Rahane, and Pujara to cross the triple-figure mark in a Test match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.