Nitish's biggest strengths are maturity and mindset: Coach

I remember an instance when his dad told me he can't afford a bat for Nitish, so I gave him mine. He went on to score 441 runs in an innings with that HEMAL WATEKAR, Nitish's childhood coach

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: Hemal Watekar remembers the time he first saw a 13-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy walk into his academy. The former Andhra batter, having called time on his first-class career in 2012, had opened his Lakshy Cricket Academy a year later in Visakhapatnam and Reddy was part of the first batch.

"The first thing I noticed was his height. He was taller than other kids of his age and seemed an ideal candidate to be groomed as a medium-pacer," said Watekar. "But when I saw him bat, I was convinced he was a special talent. He packed real punch in his shots and he had more power than the rest of the boys," the 47-year-old added.

If being crowned Emerging Player of IPL 2024 - he scored 303 runs at a strike rate of 143 for runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad - was testament to his power game, his memorable maiden Test ton at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday showed that there are more facets to Reddy's batting than brute force. The 21-year-old stitched a vital 127-run eighth-wicket partnership with Washington Sundar (50) before completing his hundred, remaining unbeaten on 105 when play was halted early due to rain.