Melbourne: The fourth match of the five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia is being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Today, i.e. Saturday, is the third day of the Boxing Day Test match. On the second day of the game, Australia scored 474 runs in their first innings and in response, India scored more than 300 runs in the second session on the third day. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy played an important role in taking India to this score.

Nitish Reddy completed his half-century after lunch on Saturday, the third day of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia. He completed his fifty in 81 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy had scored 40 plus three times in this series before this. But a half-century came from his bat in Melbourne. By scoring a half-century, Nitish Reddy has broken a 93-year-old record in Melbourne.

With this half-century, Nitish has now become the youngest batsman in Test cricket history to score a half-century at number seven or below at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

This young Indian batsman Nitish Kumar Reddy has scored a half-century at number seven or below at the age of 21 years and 214 days. Earlier this record was in the name of South Africa's Ken Viljoen who scored a fifty against Australia on this ground in 1931 at the age of 21 years and 231 days.

Before that, England's Johnny Briggs had scored a half-century at number seven or below against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1885. Briggs achieved this feat at the age of 22 years and 90 days.

Nitish's half-century helped India avert the threat of follow-on

On the basis of Nitish and Washington Sundar's wonderful partnership, India has averted the threat of follow-on in the fourth Test. Due to Reddy's innings, India has reached the score of 274 runs in the first innings, and with this, Team India has also avoided the follow-on.

There has been an unbeaten partnership of 105 runs between the two batsmen for the eighth wicket. The game has been stopped due to rain. In reply to Australia's 474 runs, the Indian team has scored 326 runs for 7 wickets in the first innings till the time of writing the news and it is still 150 runs behind India's score. Nitish is unbeaten on 85 and Sundar on 40 runs.

Indian pair to record 100+ partnership for 8th wicket in Australia

Sachin Tendulkar/Harbhajan Singh (2008)- Sydney
Anil Kumble/Harbhajan Singh (2008)- Adelaide
Nitish Kumar Reddy/Washington Sundar (2024)*- Melbourne