Gutsy Reddy's maiden ton keeps India afloat at MCG

Nitish Reddy an unknown entity in red ball cricket before the start of BorderGavaskar series virtually bailed India out with his dogged maiden Test century here on Saturday severely denting Australias hopes of winning the Boxing Day contestReddys unbeaten 105 took India to 358 for nine still 116 runs short of Australias first innings score of 474 as rain brought an early end to the third days playWith the flat MCG deck not offering much to the bowlers saving the Test match shouldnt be a big deal for India Reddy easily Indias find of the series played a pivotal role in visitors fightbackReddys combative spirit and the invaluable 127run stand he shared with Washington Sundar 50 off 162 balls proved to be the turning point for the hostsReddys innings was termed as one of greatest Test knocks by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar given the situation as India were in a precarious position after Rishab Pants dismissal courtesy a rash shot had left India tottering at 191 for sixThe young Andhra batter could have been stranded on 99 when Jasprit Bumrah got dismissed leaving Reddy with lastman in Mohammed Siraj who walked in to another round of boos and faced three deliveries from home skipper Pat CumminsBoth Reddy and his father Muthyalas expressions changed with each ball but Siraj survived to allow Reddy savour the moment he must have dreamt a thousand timesA pictureperfect 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 dugout which gave him a standing ovationA decade back when his father Muthyala left a secured job to open a microfinance lending business and incurred losses the Reddy family was advised not to give wings to young Reddys cricketing dreams but they were unrelentingSitting in the stands near the boundary Reddys father broke down when his son achieved the milestoneAs Indian fans clicked selfies with him it must have reminded of the day when his son received the best U16 cricketer award from the BCCI in 2017 and an impressionable Reddy was seen clicking selfie with his idol Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma while leaving the hotel premisesReddys batting was based on stable core playing the ball late and only going for the drive when the ball was pitched up He wasnt defending unnecessarily and 10 fours and a six was a testimony to thatIf the morning was more about Rishabh Pants inexplicable shot selection the afternoon session belonged to Reddy whose attacking game put the pressure right back on AustraliaThere were plenty of boundaries and a six off Nathan Lyon but none more gorgeous than the offdrive off CumminsReddy has been by far Indias most consistent batter in the series and the maiden Test century couldnt have come at a more opportune time and that too at an iconic venueWashington at the other end grew in confidence and trusted his defence apart from punishing the loose deliveries It did help that the dropin surface at the MCG has got better for batting as the match progressedThe second new ball did very little for Australian bowlers and the Indian duo ran very well between the wickets With Mitchell Starcs back acting up a little the two batters looked to reduce the deficit furtherIn the morning it was all about Pants shot selection that hurt IndiaThe third days MCG track is perhaps the best to bat on with green grass making way for a brownish tinge and an old Kookaburra hardly doing anythingHad Pant stuck around there was no way he wouldnt have scored bigPant did start well and got a few boundaries but then the urge to play the falling lap pull over longleg brought about his dismissalWhen he tried it for the first time off Scott Boland who came round the wicket Pant was hit in the naval area and seemed to be in painHe got up but didnt realise that Cummins had placed one fielder at deep fineleg and one at deep third man for both the conventional and reverse lap shotWithout learning his lessons or caring about success percentage Pant tried a similar shot but the extra bounce meant that the top edge flew to third man for a regulation catchIf there was a word called worstest then this was one such shot former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar said on airBut Reddy showed steely resolve as he started with a punchy offdrive off Lyon and also jumped down the track to loft him over for a straight six during a splendid recovery actWith agency inputs