India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was an unknown identity in red-ball cricket before the Border-Gavaskar series, scored a fantastic ton on the fourth day of Melbourne Test to massively help the Men in Blue in avoiding the follow-on.
Reddy’s unbeaten 105 took India to 358/9, still 116 runs short of Australia’s first innings score of 474 as rain brought an early end to the third day’s play.
With the flat MCG deck not offering much to the bowlers, saving the Test match shouldn’t be a big deal for the Men in Blue from this position.
Reddy’s combative spirit and the invaluable 127-run stand he shared with Washington Sundar (50 off 162 balls) proved to be the turning point for the hosts.
The 21-year-old Andhra batter could have been left stranded on 99 when Jasprit Bumrah got dismissed, leaving Reddy with last-man in Mohammed Siraj, who walked in to another round of boos and faced 3 deliveries from Australia skipper Pat Cummins.
A picture-perfect straight drive off Scott Boland was the moment of the series for India as Reddy balanced his helmet with the bat and took a knee, expressing his gratitude towards the Indian dug-out which gave him a standing ovation. Sitting in the stands near the boundary, Reddy’s father Muthyala broke down when his son achieved the milestone.
Reddy has been by far India’s most consistent batter in the series and the maiden Test century couldn’t have come at a more opportune time and that too at an iconic venue.
It will be interesting to see how far can the duo of Reddy and Siraj take India’s total to on the fourth day of the Melbourne Test.
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