Should Nitish Reddy Be Prompted In Batting Order After MCG Heroics? Ravi Shastri Says This

Nitish Reddy showed tremendous grit to score his maiden Test century and bail India out in the ongoing Boxing Day Test.

Ravi Shastri has advocated for Nitish Reddy's promotion in the Indian batting order after the young all-rounder's sensational maiden century in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday. The 21-year-old Reddy showed tremendous grit to virtually bail India out on the third day of the Boxing Day Test.

Former India head coach feels that Nitish batting in top-six would provide better balance to India going into the fifth and final Test.

"I feel that the way he's batted, this is the last time he will bat at 7," Shastri told Star Sports.

"To get the balance of the side, you need him to go higher up the order, either 5 or 6 and then you have the opportunity of playing 5 bowlers to take the 20 wickets, and he's given that kind of confidence to the selectors and the team management and the captain," he added.

Notably, India's batting has looked brittle, especially with skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant struggling to score runs in the five-Test series so far.

"Reddy is fully capable of batting in the top 6. Then it changes the whole balance of the game. You go to Sydney with him batting in the top 6, and you're playing five bowlers," said Shastri.

On Sunday, Nitish added nine runs to his overnight score of 105, getting out to Nathan Lyon as India were bowled out for 369 in their first innings.

On top of bragging rights for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the series locked at 1-1, the two teams are also in the race for spots in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's in June 2025.

Australia sit in second (58.89% of possible points) and India in third (55.88% of possible points), with table-toppers South Africa (63.33%) currently taking on Pakistan in Centurion.