Nitish Reddy repaid the trust that the Indian management put in him in a tough selection call for the MCG Test with a show of calm and grit on the third afternoon. The allrounder walked in at 191/6 and added a record eighth-wicket stand at the MCG worth 105* runs with Washington Sundar to drag India out of their batting quagmire. When an early Tea break arrived due to bad light, India had reduced their deficit down to 148, reports Cricbuzz.
Through their alliance that has now stretched to 32.1 overs, both Nitish and Washington showed that the conditions were bigger allies of the batters. With his 115-ball stay for 40 runs, Washington played perfect foil to Nitish, who scored his maiden Test fifty and is now just 15 away from his first Test century.
Nitish's 85 came at a brisk rate of 71.43 but there was barely any risks that the young batter indulged in. He even resisted falling into the familiar trap of playing the ramp shot against short balls from Pat Cummins, having been dismissed like that in Adelaide. He even copped a short ball to his glove but refrained from taking it on. He exuded confidence right from the start, playing his drives against the quicks and giving Nathan Lyon the charge. There was just one audacious moment in an otherwise controlled effort when he tried to play a reverse sweep of pacer Scott Boland.
What brought them together for a session of comfortable batting were the dramatic events of the morning period. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, not averse to stitching big stands themselves, were taken out by Boland and Lyon to put India seven down and at a risk of conceding a big first-innings lead. Pant went while attempting to shuffle across and lap Boland over the leg side, only to top-edge the ball to Lyon at third man.
Jadeja, who'd been completely restrained in his demeanour, was dismissed with a trick out of his own book by Lyon. The off-spinner pinged Jadeja on the backfoot with his lengths and slipped a quicker one at 88kmph to trap him leg before. From 221/7 in the 65th over, Australia's hopes of a quick wrap up were thoroughly dashed. Through the still unbeaten eighth-wicket stand, India forced an opposition to take the second new ball in their first innings for the first time in eight Tests.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
