India vs Australia LIVE Score, 4th Test Day 3: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have dropped anchor at the MCG

Reddy powered a counter-attack from India but Australia finished the first session well ahead, getting the wickets of Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja and thus reducing the visitors to their last recognised batting pair. Reddy was batting on 40 off 61 balls when Lunch was called and India were 244/7, trailing Australia by 230 runs.

Reddy started well but India continued taking almost entirely needless risks running between the wickets at the time. He came into the middle within the first hour of play after Rishabh Pant threw away a good start trying to go after Scott Boland. India were still trailing by 280 runs. Ravindra Jadeja at the other end took 24 balls before getting his first runs of the day. Jadeja’s vigil was finally ended by Lyon in the 65th over. It is now completely down to India’s last all-rounders to get them out of jail. There were two mix-ups during the first hour of play. Pant sent Jadeja back in the first one and it was the other way around in the second.

A cardinal rule in Test cricket is that matches can flip on their heads in a matter of one session, no matter the stage of the game, and the end of day two of the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground continued to prove that. Three wickets in the space of four overs late in the day left India reeling heading into stumps, with Australia in the ascendancy and now certainly odds-on favourites to take a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India finished day two on 164/5, still trailing by 310 runs and caught in that now-familiar no-man’s-land of running out of batters with a mountain of runs still to try and climb over. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja will be the overnight batters, both having faced only seven deliveries and met with the proposition of fending off a fresh Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the morning. While Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar are still in the tank – two very capable batters, with the duo currently at the crease also capable of turning matches – 310 is still a daunting number, especially against an Australian attack which has settled into a good rhythm this series.

India looked to have done well after a couple of early setbacks, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli both looking in good touch as they began to stitch together a century partnership in the third session at the MCG. Jaiswal had started taking the attack to Australia’s bowlers, quickly adding up the runs, while Kohli looked focussed and intent on staying at the crease to register a big score, leaving his bug-bear deliveries outside off stump and rotating the strike. Disaster struck for the duo just as they reached the 100-run mark in their partnership, as a mix-up saw young Jaiswal left out to dry and run-out on 82, looking set for a memorable big score at the MCG.

The dismissal, which came out of the blue and totally against the run of play, shattered the focus and commitment that Kohli had been showing. He finally fended tentatively at one in the fifth-sixth stump channel from Scott Boland, and only one mistake was needed from a batter who finds himself in the eye of a media storm Down Under. Nightwatchman Akash Deep was next to depart, a questionable move made worse as a thick edge onto his thigh pad looped up and was caught for a 13-ball duck.

For Australia, a bit of chaos and good fortune going their way means they find themselves in an excellent position heading into the rest of the Test match. Pat Cummins and his men will expect to wrap up the rest of India’s batting with a healthy lead still in hand, giving them two or three sessions to allow the likes of Sam Konstas and Travis Head to bat in their favourite manner by taking an attack to the Indian bowling and ballooning the lead even further in the third innings, while also saving plenty of time on days four and five to try and bowl out India without any fear of a huge target being chased down.

The key for India, therefore, will be to bat for time on day three, to try and extend this match as much as possible and make sure it isn’t a comfortable situation for Australia with regards to when they should call their declaration. Pant is due a big innings in Australia, but will need to survive the opening burst and remain at the crease to ensure he can do so. He will be the main batter Australia will be wary of, but he will also have plenty of support from Jadeja, Reddy, and Sundar. Cameos of 40-50 runs from that trio will ensure India can avoid the follow-on, but the demand will be that Rishabh Pant sticks through and puts up a big score to ensure that India at the very least try and reach the 350-run mark in this innings.

India aren’t completely out of it yet, with plenty of potential to try and spark a big comeback that they have become so accustomed to down under, showing plenty of fighting spirit and making a skill out of remaining in the game long enough to put pressure on Australia. This is a fact that the hosts will be aware of, and will therefore be trying to nip in the bud even before it becomes a concern. The first spell of bowling with the batters slightly uncertain in the morning will be key: if Pant can be dismissed early on, it opens up a chance to ensure that Australia are on the verge of a result potentially by stumps on day three itself.

The equation is simple: batting conditions are still positive, and Pant is due a classic. Can the rest of the Indian all-round core provide enough support to keep the visitors interested and in the hunt for a positive result in Melbourne? Or will Australia run through the batting to put the bow on a memorable Boxing Day Test 2024?

Things to look forward to on Day 3 of India vs Australia 4th Test:

– Reddy and Sundar’s partnership was on 105 off 195 balls at the end of the second session

– Early Tea was taken at the MCG, India were 326/7, trailing Australia by 148 runs

– The Reddy-Sundar partnership went past 100 in 190 balls

– Reddy and Sundar’s partnership went past 50 in 111 balls

– Reddy raised his half-century in 81 balls

– Nitish Kumar Reddy was batting on 40 off 61 balls at the end of the first session

– India 244/7 at Lunch, trail Australia by 230 runs

– Ravindra Jadeja fell to Nathan Lyon on 17 off 51 balls

– Rishabh Pant was dismissed by Scott Boland on 28 off 37 balls with India still behind by 280 runs

– India resumed at 164/5, trailing Australia by 310 runs

– India started the day 111 runs away from avoiding a follow-on