MELBOURNE: India’s all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden century and a crucial half-century from Washington Sundar on Saturday turned the tide for India in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Reddy delivered a spectacular performance, remaining unbeaten on 102* as stumps were called early due to poor light and rain.
India concluded the day at 358/9, still trailing by 116 runs in response to Australia’s first innings total of 474.
The in-form duo of Reddy and Sundar stitched a 127-run partnership, with India’s lower-order staging a spirited fightback to keep their team in contest.
On the bowling front, Australia claimed four wickets, including Rishabh Pant (28), Ravindra Jadeja (17), Washington Sundar (50), and Jasprit Bumrah (0).
With the Border-Gavaskar series tied at 1-1, the two teams are in race to secure spots in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June 2025.
It is pertinent to mention that the hosts sit in second (58.89% of possible points) and India in third (55.88% of possible points), with South Africa leading the table (63.33%).
Meanwhile, the fourth day will begin with India resuming their first innings, with Reddy (105*) and Mohammed Siraj (2*) at the crease.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
