Nitish Kumar Reddy vs Virat Kohli: Comparing the stats of the two after 5 Tests

Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed with the bat in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. It was his debut Test series and came in tough conditions in Australia.

The youngster showed glimpses of his batting potential with some key knocks. His best performance came in the fourth Test in Melbourne, where he slammed his maiden Test (as well as international) century for India.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, a senior player in the side, did not have a fruitful series with the bat. He did begin on a positive note with an unbeaten hundred in the first Test in Perth. However, he added just 90 runs from four Tests later on. He struggled to score, getting dismissed caught behind to outside off-stump deliveries.

Nitish Kumar Reddy made his Test debut in the first Test in Perth. The 21-year-old has thus played five Tests for India so far. On that note, let us compare the stats of the two Indian players after their first five Test matches.

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Nitish Kumar Reddy's stats after first five Tests

Nitish Kumar Reddy made his Test debut in the first Test against Australia in Perth during the 2024-25 BGT. He ended as India's second-highest run-getter in his debut Test series.

In five Tests, Nitish batted in nine innings. The right-handed batter accumulated 298 runs at an average of 37.25 with a century. His best score of 114 came in the fourth Test of the series in Melbourne. He also made three 40-plus scores with the bat.

He also picked up five wickets at an average of 38.00 and an economy rate of 4.31. While he was impressive with the bat, the all-rounder has yet to create a significant impact with the ball in Test cricket.

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Virat Kohli's stats after first five Tests

Virat Kohli made his Test debut against the West Indies at Kingston back in 2011. It was a three-match series and Virat played all three games. Like Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kohli's Test debut also came in an away series.

In that series, he batted in five innings from three Tests and managed to score just 76 runs. However, his fourth Test came against the same opponent. The West Indies toured India the same year (2011). Kohli was not part of the playing XI in the first two Tests but got an opportunity in the third Test of the series at Wankhede.

He scored fifties in both the innings (52 and 63). His fifth Test was against Australia in Melbourne in 2011, where he scored just 11 runs across both innings. Overall, Kohli scored 202 runs from his first five Tests at an average of 22.44 with a best score of 63.

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Who has the better stats after five Tests?

From the above stats, it is clear that Nitish Kumar Reddy has better numbers from his first five Tests than Virat Kohli's. Not only has he scored more runs than Kohli but he also slammed his maiden Test hundred.

The 21-year-old's average of 37.25 is also better than Kohli's average of 22.44 after five Tests. While the start has been promising for Nitish Reddy, the expectations will be high given his performance going forward.

Virat Kohli went on to establish himself as a top batter in Test cricket over the years. Only time will tell whether Nitish Kumar Reddy can perform consistently and carry his success forward for a long period in Test cricket.