India National Cricket Team all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy found himself in an embarrassing situation during the first game of the five-match T20I series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday, October 22.

The youngster celebrated Bevon Jacobs’ catch, but he soon realized that the dismissal would not count as the ball was a free-hit off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s bowling in the first T20I at Hagley Oval. Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar fared worse on comeback than in the last T20I 4 years ago.

Nitish Kumar Reddy’s embarrassing moment goes viral from 1st IND vs NZ T20I

The incident took place in the 16th over of New Zealand’s record-breaking innings when Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled to Bevon Jacobs in the first T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

After delivering another short ball, Bhuvneshwar was called for a no-ball, as it was his second short delivery of the over. On the next delivery, Jacobs hit a lofted shot towards long-on, where Nitish Kumar Reddy completed the catch and started celebrating.

The Indian all-rounder was smiling and ran while taking the catch, but as soon as he realized that could not be given the catch out, Reddy’s face turned pale as he tried to cover his face. On the other hand, captain Shreyas Iyer was seen in a serious mood at that moment.

Actually, it was a free hit, so Jacobs could not be given out caught. As a result, Nitish had to stop his celebration as New Zealand continued their innings. Now, the clip of the moment went viral online.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3rd over and getting hit hard Embarassment movement for the Nitish Kumar Reddy https://t.co/Fha6ZqKlj1

— BackToLobby (@_backtolobby) October 22, 2026

Later in the 18th over, Bevon Jacobs was run out in a surprising way during the first T20I against India at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh showed excellent presence of mind and used his football skills to help India take an important wicket.

The incident happened when Glenn Phillips played a yorker from Arshdeep onto his feet. Jacobs called for a quick single and ran towards the other end, but Arshdeep reached the ball first and kicked it onto the stumps at Hagley Oval. Amid this, Abhishek Sharma creates history with first-ball six vs New Zealand.

Jacobs tried to dive to safety, but his bat was in the air, and he failed to reach the crease in time. After checking, the third umpire ruled him out, as Jacobs had to walk back to the dugout after scoring 31 runs off just 16 balls, including three sixes, against India in the first T20I.

Nitish Kumar Reddy returns to India XI after illness

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar Reddy has returned to India XI after recovering from fitness problems. The Indian all-rounder was included in the playing XI for the first T20I against New Zealand after missing the fifth and final T20I against the West Indies because of illness.

He recovered under the supervision of the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Reddy bowled his full four overs, giving away 40 runs without taking a wicket at an economy rate of 10.00. However, he bowled an important 15th over without conceding a boundary, slowing down New Zealand’s scoring.

The hosts finished with a huge total of 225/4 in 20 overs. Reddy will now come out to bat at number seven, as India has already lost four wickets and they still need 74 runs in 41 balls to win the first T20I.