After being dominated for large parts of this Boxing Day Test at the MCG, India put up a defiant resistance. It was through Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar that they fought back. Australia went wicketless throughout the second session on day three.
India scored just 80 runs and lost two wickets in the first session. It seemed like Australia are on course for a big lead. However, Reddy batted beautifully and Sundar was the perfect foil for him. India scored 82 runs in 24 overs and more importantly, didn’t lose any wickets.
Reddy was doing the bulk of the scoring early on in the partnership. Sundar rotated the strike nicely and defended well. India saw off the spin of Nathan Lyon prior to the second new ball. And when the new cherry was taken, both Reddy and Sundar blunted out the Aussie pace attack excellently.
There was an early chance that went down. Sundar was dropped by Steve Smith at second slip. Starc slipped one down leg-side which induced a leading edge and went low to Smith in the cordon but the Australia vice-captain couldn’t hold on.
Reddy reached the 50-run landmark with a brilliant drive through the covers off Starc. After getting three 40+ scores, the 21-year-old finally got to his maiden Test half-century.
While Reddy kept finding the boundary at regular intervals, Sundar found gaps and ran hard between the wickets. There were 2s and 3s consistently while the pair even ran a four on one occasion.
Boland bowls a good spell but can’t get the breakthrough
Scott Boland bowled an incisive spell with the second new-ball. He struck Reddy on the elbow and even hit his pads on a few occasions. He even went past Sundar’s edge a few times. But he couldn’t get the breakthrough.
The duo have put on a superb 105-run stand for the 8th wicket. Both batters have looked solid and Reddy is nearing his maiden Test ton. He is currently batting on 85 while Sundar is unbeaten on 40.
Mitchell Starc got attention on his back in the back half of the second session. He had a bit of a frown on his face after completing one of his overs towards the end of the session. He was even seen getting some attention from the physio on the boundary in between overs.
Bad light and drizzle forced the umpires to take early Tea. But it was a session that India won handsomely. They have reduced the deficit to 150. Australia looked a bit off towards the end of that second session. They need just one wicket to have an opening as India have just Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the shed.
BRIEF SCORES: Australia 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72, Sam Konstas 60, Jasprit Bumrah 4/99, Ravindra Jadeja 3/78, Akash Deep 2/94) vs India 326/7 (Nitish Kumar Reddy 85*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 82, Washington Sundar 40*, Scott Boland 3/49, Pat Cummins 2/86).
