IND vs AUS: PUMA Hits Back At Sanjay Manjrekar Over Nitish Kumar Reddy’s MCG Century

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PUMA Hits Back At Sanjay Manjrekar Over Nitish Kumar Reddy’s MCG Century: India’s rising star, Nitish Kumar Reddy, made a stunning performance on Day 3 of the fourth Test against Australia. On December 28, he impressed everyone with his first-ever Test century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

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Nitish Kumar Reddy Shines with Maiden Test Century at MCG

The 21-year-old showed great skill and calmness under pressure, finishing the day unbeaten on 105. His brilliant innings helped India reach 385/9 at the end of Day 3, in reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 474 in the Boxing Day Test.

He was also part of an important 127-run partnership with Washington Sundar, who contributed with a tough fifty in Melbourne. Their stand for the eighth wicket played a key role in stabilizing India’s innings after a rough start, giving the visitors a strong chance in the ongoing fourth Test against Australia.

The century is even more meaningful for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been impressive with the bat since the first Test. It came after criticism from former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who had questioned Reddy’s spot in the Indian team.

PUMA Responds to Sanjay Manjrekar’s Criticism of Reddy with a Bold Gesture

Before the Boxing Day Test, Sanjay Manjrekar had questioned whether Reddy could be considered an all-rounder, saying it was too soon to call him that. However, Reddy’s outstanding performance at the MCG showed his skill and proved that he deserved a place in the playing XI.

Sanjay Manjrekar had said during an interaction on ESPNcricinfo: “See, there is no doubting the potential he has and how good he has played. But can we get 120 from somebody who bats at no. 8? He is clearly not a bowler who can get you a seven-wicket haul like Shardul Thakur. Is he, at this stage, good enough to be pushed up the order and played as a pure batter by dropping someone out of form? Then you can add an extra bowler. His bowling is not good enough to play him as a bowling all-rounder. It is too early to consider him as a batting all-rounder.”

After Nitish Kumar Reddy’s impressive maiden Test century at the MCG, PUMA decided to publicly respond to Sanjay Manjrekar for underestimating Reddy and questioning his place in the Test XI, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Reddy, who PUMA sponsors, received strong support from the brand following his stunning century. PUMA took the opportunity to subtly take revenge on Sanjay Manjrekar for questioning Reddy’s place in the team.

On the social media platform X, PUMA Cricket responded to one of Sanjay Manjrekar’s old tweets about Reddy. They posted a picture from an official photoshoot of Reddy making a ‘shushing’ gesture, a clever dig at Manjrekar after Reddy’s impressive century, which silenced many critics.

https://t.co/JlrL7DXTFf pic.twitter.com/MhCQ0ZBc7L

— PUMA Cricket (@pumacricket) December 28, 2024

The Indian selectors made a bold decision by picking Nitish Kumar Reddy for the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, despite his modest average of 21 from 21 first-class matches. However, Reddy has justified his selection with impressive performances in his maiden Test series. He is currently India’s leading run-scorer in the ongoing five-match Test series, having scored 284 runs in four innings so far.

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