Melbourne Test: Nitish-Sundar Help India Make a Comeback, India Score 326/7 at Tea on Day 3

Melbourne, 28th December : On the third day of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, India reached 326/7 in their first innings by tea. Nitish Reddy is unbeaten on 85, and Washington Sundar is not out on 40. India is still trailing Australia by 148 runs, as Australia scored 474 in their first innings.

India resumed their innings on Day 3 from the overnight score of 164/5. Overnight batsmen Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja started cautiously, but Pant was dismissed for 28 runs at a total score of 191 by Boland. Ravindra Jadeja also fell to Lyon for 17 runs at a total score of 221.

Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar Stage a Comeback for India

At 221/7, India was in trouble, and it seemed they might have to follow on. However, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar played brilliantly, not only saving India from the follow-on but also helping them make a comeback in the match. Both batsmen played cautiously, handling both the old and new balls, and took India past 300 for the first time in the series. Nitish completed his half-century during this partnership. The two have added 105 runs for the eighth wicket so far. At tea, Nitish is unbeaten on 85 and Sundar on 40.

Recap of Day 2

At the end of Day 2, India had scored 164/5. Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 6, and Ravindra Jadeja was not out on 4.

India's first innings began poorly, with captain Rohit Sharma once again failing to make an impact, dismissed for just 3 runs by Cummins. Rohit had opened the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

After Rohit's dismissal, KL Rahul and Jaiswal took India’s score to 50. However, just before tea, Rahul was dismissed for 24 runs, becoming the second victim of Pat Cummins, as India’s score reached 51.

Kohli-Jaiswal Build a 102-Run Partnership for the Third Wicket

After Rahul’s dismissal, Virat Kohli took charge and, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, took India’s score past 150. However, Jaiswal was unfortunately run out for 82 runs at a total score of 153. Jaiswal faced 118 balls, hitting 11 fours and 1 six. Before his dismissal, he had shared a 102-run partnership with Kohli.

After Jaiswal’s dismissal, Kohli also departed, getting out to Boland for 36 runs. Nightwatchman Aakashdeep could not contribute and was dismissed without scoring, becoming Boland's second victim at a total score of 159. Jadeja and Pant then ensured no further wickets fell before the end of the day, with Jadeja on 4 and Pant on 6.

Australia’s First Innings: 474 Runs, Smith’s Century

Earlier, Australia had scored 474 runs in their first innings. Steve Smith played a brilliant knock of 140 runs. Apart from Smith, Usman Khawaja made 57, Marnus Labuschagne scored 72, and Sam Constable made 60. Pat Cummins (49) and Alex Carey (31) also contributed vital runs.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah took 4 wickets, Ravindra Jadeja took 3, Aakashdeep claimed 2, and Washington Sundar took 1 wicket.