Watch: Nitish Kumar Reddy channels Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa’ to celebrate maiden Test fifty at MCG

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been outshining the big names like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma with his incredible batting display in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. The Indian pace all-rounder is currently playing his maiden Test series, and that too in Down Under.

While the big names, including Rishabh Pant, have been failing to leave a mark on the Australian turf, Nitish Kumar Reddy is proving again and again that he is going to become the next superstar in Indian cricket, and his maiden Test fifty in Melbourne was the perfect statement.

Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrates his maiden Test fifty in Pushpa style

On Day 3 of the ongoing Boxing Day Test, Nitish Kumar Reddy brought up his maiden Test fifty in a style to help India avoid the follow-on against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne. He smacked the Australian pacer Mitchell Starc for a stunning boundary to hit his maiden fifty in the ongoing fourth Test of the BGT 2024-25 in Melbourne.

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And then he celebrated his fifty in the famous ‘Pushpa’ style from the Allu Arjun-starrer Telugu movie. After reaching the milestone, Nitish Kumar Reddy imitated the popular Pushpa Raj celebration to celebrate his maiden Test fifty at the iconic MCG.

The 21-year-old placed the bat around his neck, mimicking the famous scene by Allu Arjun from his film ‘Pushpa.’ Even Sunil Gavaskar, in the commentary box, noticed it instantly and reacted by saying, “O... Pushpa,” before bursting into laughter.

Watch Nitish Reddy's viral "Pushpa" celebration here:

"𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙟𝙝𝙪𝙠𝙚𝙜𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙝𝙞!" 🔥

The shot, the celebration - everything was perfect as #NitishKumarReddy completed his maiden Test fifty! 👏#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 4th Test, Day 3 | LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/hupun4pq2N

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 28, 2024

Following his ‘Pushpa’ celebration, fans are in awe of the Indian all-rounder, with many hailing his courage for not bowing down to Australia and delivering under pressure. By hammering his fifty in the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Reddy joined Anil Kumble in an elite list of batters.

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Nitish Kumar Reddy and Anil Kumble are amongst the No. 8 batters from India to have scored half-centuries in Australia in Test cricket. Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Karsan Ghavri, Manoj Prabhakar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Dattu Phadkar, and Hemu Adhikari are the other Indians who have hit a fifty in the longest format of the game while batting at No. 8 Down Under.

Nitish Kumar Reddy enters elite club with MCG fifty

Meanwhile, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar’s partnership is becoming a big headache for Australia in the ongoing Boxing Day Test, as the Indian duo is making the most of the MCG turf, which is now becoming easy for batting as the match progresses.

Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar have already added 90+ runs for the 8th wicket for Team India, with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star inches close to notching up his maiden international hundred in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against Australia at the MCG.

Notably, Nitish Kumar Reddy has made significant strides in the ICC Men's Test All-Rounder Rankings in India. Nitish has climbed to the 89th position, with 27 points in the latest ICC Men's Test All-Rounder Rankings. He is currently among the top five run scorers in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.