Nitish Reddy Reveals The Virat Kohli Connection Behind His Maiden Test Ton In Melbourne

India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy revealed that a light-hearted dressing room banter with the talismanic Virat Kohli resulted in him getting the shoes gifted by the former skipper, which he wore when he hit his first Test century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). “Back in the locker room, he (Kohli) once asked Sarfaraz (Khan), ‘Sarfu, tera size kya hai?' (Sarfaraz, what's your shoe size?), and he said, ‘Nine.' Then he turned to me, and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I have to guess this correctly,' because even if they weren't my size, I really wanted his shoes. I said, ‘10,' and he gave them to me. In the next match, I wore those shoes and scored a hundred!" said Reddy in a podcast on PUMA's Youtube channel on Thursday.

After getting his maiden Test hundred in 171 balls at Melbourne, Nitish revealed his eyes were searching for his father Mutyalu, who was present amongst the 80,000-odd fans at the venue alongside his mother, sister and uncle. “Everyone in the dressing room came up and congratulated me, but I was just looking for one guy—hoping he'd come and talk to me.

“When Virat bhai (Kohli) finally walked up and told me I had played a wonderful game, that moment itself was special for me. I was also scanning the stands for my father but couldn't find him. Later, I saw on the screen that he was crying.”

Nitish also shared a light moment from the Test tour of Australia, where how his Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise teammate Travis Head tried to divert his attention through some playful sledging. “Travis came up to me and said, ‘Nitish, where are you going to party tonight?'—knowing fully well that I wouldn't.

“Then he went on, ‘Australia is such a great place. Melbourne is an amazing city, you have to go