In the lead-up to the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former cricketers and commentators predicted Nitish Kumar Reddy could be the find of the tour for India, and the young seam-bowling all-rounder on Saturday proved his worth with what could be a match-turning maiden Test century at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before rain forced early stumps on the third day of the fourth Test.
With that feat, Reddy etched his name into MCG history as well as Indian cricket folklore as the first visiting number eight batter to score a century at the Test game’s birthplace, which also heralded his maiden ton at international level.
Reddy got great support from off-spinning allrounder Washington Sundar, who came up with an equally important half-century that infused new life into the Boxing Day Test as India fought back hard against Australia on the third day of an enthralling contest in Melbourne. Reddy batted superbly to reach an undefeated 105 as poor light and rain at the MCG ensured no play with India at 358/9 and still trailing by 116 runs in response to Australia’s 474.
It looked like Reddy was going to cruise to his century when Sundar was alongside him, but his dismissal and the loss of Jasprit Bumrah for a duck saw Mohammed Siraj (2*) come to the crease with his partner still one short of his first Test century.
But Siraj survived a few nervy deliveries from Australian captain Pat Cummins (3/86) and Reddy found the boundary in the ensuing over to bring up three figures and further reduce India’s deficit.
Reddy’s innings gives hope to India with two days remaining in the crucial ICC World Test Championship contest, with all results still possible as the two combatants chase a spot at next year’s one-off Final at Lord’s.
Having debuted in the series opener at Perth at number eight, Reddy has posted scores of 41, 38no, 42, 42, 16 and now 105no despite his lowly berth in the batting order with a current average of 71.
Reddy and Sundar batted sensibly to combine for a partnership of 127 as Australia’s bowlers toiled hard for little reward on a cooler day in Melbourne. Only four wickets fell on a day that belonged to Reddy and India, with Rishabh Pant (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (17) dismissed during the morning session as Australia went in search of breakthroughs.
Reddy and Sundar steadied the ship to give India some hope, with the Test and series still up for grabs heading into the final two days in Melbourne.
On top of bragging rights for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the series locked at 1-1, the two teams are also in the race for spots in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June 2025.
Australia sit in second (58.89% of possible points) and India in third (55.88% of possible points), with table-toppers South Africa (63.33%) currently taking on Pakistan in Centurion.
Brief Scores: India 358 for 9 (Reddy 105 not out, Washington 50, Boland 3-57, Cummins 3-86) trail Australia 474 by 116 runs