Watch cricket video highlights of India tour of Australia 2024. 4th Test between Australia and India. Venue of the match will be Melbourne.
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Even though Australia was still expected to gain a sizable advantage in the first innings, an incredible Indian rearguard headed by Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a gutsy debut Test century and was accompanied by Mohammed Siraj at number eleven, gave them hope of at least escaping loss in the fourth Test at the MCG. After a dismissal by Rishabh Pant that sparked some intense responses, Reddy, who had demonstrated his batting ability at various points during his debut Test series, arrived at the crease early on the third morning and remained there till the game ended early due to terrible light and rain.
When it looked like Australia would take control of the game, he and Washington Sundar put together a stand of 127 in just under 48 overs to stop them cold. But once Washington was fired, there was a great deal of tension before Reddy’s shining moment. He and Jasprit Bumrah returned for a second run off the last ball of an over, exposing the No. 10 to Pat Cummins, who edged to slip while Reddy watched from the non-striker’s end on 99, in what seemed to be a communication breakdown.
However, to thunderous applause from the Indian fans, Siraj managed to negotiate three deliveries from Cummins. Reddy now faced Scott Boland, and after defending two deliveries, he hit a lofted straight shot down the ground to reach a spectacular century, only his second in first-class cricket. As the landmark drew closer, his father was among the people in the throng, on the edge of the seat, and he was overcome with emotion. Rain had brought an early tea earlier, so as the players left the field for the second time, Australia’s lead had been reduced to 116, much less than it appeared to be when they had India 221 for 7 before lunch.
They will still aim for a three-figure advantage, but they may now have to sprint against the clock to win on a pitch that hasn’t much deteriorated. When play started, India was 310 down after the second evening ended with Australia taking 3 for 6 surrounding the run out of Yashasvi Jaiswal, the implications of which were still being hotly discussed. When Pant tried to scoop Boland over fine leg and gained a leading edge to deep third, he collapsed in a way that made headlines.
Pant had taken the lead early on the third morning. This was an illustration of how things might go wrong in a Test that had been dominated by the scoops of Sam Konstas. After a mostly defensive innings, Lyon’s outstanding bowling effort put Ravindra Jadeja out of his misery by skidding one through and trapping him leg before wicket. Although it was only Lyon’s fourth wicket of the series, he still has a chance to play a significant part because he later made a bounce to get rid of Washington.
The follow-on was the initial objective when Washington joined Reddy, but there was little possibility Cummins would have enforced it. When Jadeja fell, India was still 253 runs behind. Even though his partner had a 35-ball lead, Reddy had been upbeat when he got there, swiftly surpassing Jadeja’s total. Reddy ran down to the offspinner and sent him straight for six shortly after Lyon had removed Jadeja. As in the series, his technique demonstrated that he will be higher up the order as his career progresses.
He reached his half-century with a rasping back-foot drive against Mitchell Starc. Washington was cautious the entire time, earning his first and only boundary until his 103rd ball when he blasted Starc past point with a beautiful drive. Washington was instrumental with the bat in the historic 2021 triumph at the Gabba. There had been much discussion about why the additional all-rounders were chosen over Shubman Gill, but they should have done a bit more with the bat to support their decision.
In the first over of the second new ball, Washington had one lucky moment under rather peculiar circumstances when he attempted to turn Starc through the leg side. The ball flew off the back of his bat towards second slip, where Steven Smith, caught off guard that it was headed his way, was unable to hold on and jumped to his right. Later, halfway through an over, Starc gripped his back, giving Australia cause for concern. But when the quicks’ workload increased in preparation for the final Test in Sydney, he seemed to emerge unhurt and kept up his strong speed while finishing the day without a wicket from 25 overs.
Although he helped to slow down the scoring early in the final session, Mitchell Marsh’s 120 kph middle pace proved underwhelming during his brief appearances before and after a lengthy tea break. Before Lyon got one to bounce against Washington, which took the bat’s shoulder to Smith at slip, the eighth-wicket duo didn’t appear to be separated. Reddy was on 97 at that time, and the most interesting few minutes of the day were about to start.
