India's Deficit Narrowed to 148 Runs

India's Eighth-Wicket Stand Saves the Day

Nitish Reddy repaid the trust of the Indian management with a calm and gritty show on the third afternoon. He added a record eighth-wicket stand with Washington Sundar, worth 105* runs, to drag India out of their batting quagmire. The duo's alliance now stretches to 32.1 overs.

A Perfect Foil to Each Other

Washington Sundar played a perfect foil to Nitish Reddy, who scored his maiden Test fifty. Sundar's 115-ball stay for 40 runs was a crucial contribution to India's cause. The two batsmen showed that the conditions were bigger allies of the batters.

A Controlled Effort

Nitish Reddy's 85 came at a brisk rate of 71.43, but he barely took any risks. He resisted falling into the familiar trap of playing the ramp shot against short balls from Pat Cummins. He even copped a short ball to his glove but refrained from taking it on.

A Session of Comfortable Batting

The dramatic events of the morning period brought Nitish and Washington together for a session of comfortable batting. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were taken out by Boland and Lyon to put India seven down and at a risk of conceding a big first-innings lead.

Brief Scores

• India: 326/7 (Nitish Reddy 85*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 82; Scott Boland 3-49)
• Australia: 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99)
• India trail Australia by 148 runs