Before Nitish Reddy, Virat Kohli Shut Down Sanjay Manjrekar With A Savage Test Hundred

When Manjrekar's criticism induced Virat Kohli and Nitish Reddy's maiden centuries [Source: @ImTanujSingh/X.com]

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar’s criticism of Nitish Reddy backfired as the all-rounder slammed his maiden Test century against Australia. However, a similar moment unfolded back in 2012 when Virat Kohli responded to Manjrekar’s criticism with a blazing ton.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the controversial cricket commentator, has hogged the limelight for all the wrong reasons once again. During the MCG Test between India and Australia, he had a tiff with Irfan Pathan while discussing the run out of Yashasvi Jaiswal, involving Virat Kohli.

Moreover, days before the MCG Test, he posted a tweet questioning 21-year-old all-rounder Nitish Reddy’s place in the team. The youngster responded with a blazing maiden Test century on Day 3 of the fourth Test.

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When Sanjay Manjrekar's negative tweet against Virat Kohli backfired

That being said, back in 2012, India’s cricketing idol, Virat Kohli, had a similar savage moment. After the second Test against Australia, Manjrekar opined that VVS Laxman should be dropped and Rohit Sharma should get an opportunity instead. Not only that, the former cricketer issued an ultimatum for Kohli, saying the latter should only be given one more Test to play as he does not belong in red ball cricket.

Days later, Virat Kohli turned up in Adelaide to slam his maiden Test century. Batting at no.6, he scored 116 runs off 213 balls, marking the beginning of a glorious Test career. While India lost the game and the series, Kohli emerged as the next thing that steered his country to memorable victories across all formats in the next decade.

Reddy-Sundar recreates Rahane-Jadeja’s heroics

With India reeling 191/6 in the second innings of the fourth Test against Australia, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar pulled off a heroic partnership of 100-plus runs for the 8th wicket. While Reddy slammed a hundred, Sundar contributed with a gritty half-century. Their partnership helped India reduce Australia’s lead to 116 runs at end of Day 3's play.

Interestingly, back in the 2020 Boxing Day Test between India and Australia, a similar partnership unfolded.  Ajinkya Rahane’s match-winning 112 and Ravindra Jadeja’s 57 steered India from 173/5 to dominance over Australia. 

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