Former Australian cricketer Stuart Clark lauded the partnership between Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, which helped India recover from a precarious position on Day 3 of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne. When India was struggling at 221/7 on Saturday, Sundar and Reddy's crucial stand of 127 runs provided much-needed stability to the innings reducing the deficit to 116 runs. Sundar's gritty knock ended when he edged Nathan Lyon to slip, departing for a well-made 50 off 162 balls, which included just one boundary. Despite his dismissal, the partnership significantly boosted India's chances in the match.
Stuart Clark commented on the partnership during an interview with ANI, saying, "India has put up a good partnership. Washington and Reddy are batting well. They're making Australians work hard for their wicket, and it's making the game interesting because they are getting closer to the Australian score."
Clark also shared his thoughts on Rishabh Pant's dismissal earlier in the innings. Reflecting on the incident, he stated, "You gotta take the good with the bad. It was a big issue when it happened because India needed to fight. We've seen him play that shot a lot of times and hit it into the crowd as well. You're gonna get it wrong from time to time, and unfortunately, he got it wrong today..."
As India reached 358/9 at the end of Day 3, trailing by 116 runs, the efforts of Sundar and Reddy have kept them in contention. The match remains finely poised as India looks to close the gap on the Australian total.
Indian batter Nitish Kumar Reddy slammed his maiden international century on Day Three of the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia on Saturday, bringing India back into the game at Melbourne.
In the final session on the day, Nitish Kumar Reddy, while standing at 99, slammed the ball towards the mid-on fielder for a four and got his maiden international century in style.
The atmosphere at the MCG turned emotional, as Nitish's father shed tears of joy, while joining hands and thanking God.
Coming to the pavilion after the knock, Nitish was received with appreciation by Australian players and standing ovation from the Indian camp.
Nitish stands unbeaten at 105 runs from 176 balls at a strike rate of 59.66. He slammed 10 fours and 1 six during his time on the crease on Day Three of the Melbourne Test.
With his ton, the youngster also achieved an elusive feat as he became the third youngest Indian batter to get a maiden Test century in Australia after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant.
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