Nitish Kumar Reddy entered the record books with his unbeaten century on day 3 (Saturday, Dec 28) of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test in Melbourne. Reddy is now the third youngest batter to score his maiden Test ton in Australia behind legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant.

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Sachin had scored his first Test hundred in Australia at the age of 18 years and 256 days in 1992 while Pant had done so aged 21 years and 92 days in Sydney in 2019. Reddy, who is still unbeaten, is 21 years and 216 days old.

Also Read: BGT 2024-25: Gavaskar livid with 'terrible selection' of Rishabh Pant

Nitish Kumar Reddy recues India along with Wasington Sundar

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India were staring at a huge first innings deficit at 221/7 when Reddy took the charge with fellow all-rounder Washington Sundar. The duo added 127 runs for the eighth wicket - the second highest ever for India in Australia and third joint-highest overall between two countries for the last three wickets.

The partnership was broken when Nathan Lyon got Sundar caught at slips after the all-rounder reached his 50. Reddy, who was batting at 97 at the time, had a scare of not reaching his ton as Jasprit Bumrah was also taken out with only one wicket remaining in the innings. 

Mohammed Siraj, however, stood his ground which gave Reddy opportunity to reach his maiden Test ton. The youngster has 275 runs in the series as of now - highest for India and second highest overall behind Travis Head's 409.

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India were 358/9 before rain forced an early end of the day with Reddy unbeaten on 105 with Siraj on the other end. The visitors still trail by 116 runs in the first innings but with rain predicted for next two days - India may have done enough to escape with a draw at the MCG.

The five-Test series currently stands equal at 1-1 with one more Test to go after the ongoing Boxing Day Test.