Reddy-made: India's latest batting hero bound for promotion

If there's been a surprising element to Nitish Kumar Reddy's debut series in Test cricket it must be the fact he's batted at number seven or eight when his pedigree and performance suggests he's a serious top-order talent.

Reddy etched his name into MCG history as well as Indian cricket folklore as the first visiting number eight batter to score a century at the Test game's birthplace, which also heralded his maiden ton at international level.

Having debuted in the series opener at Perth at number eight, Reddy has posted scores of 41, 38no, 42, 42, 16 and now 105no despite his lowly berth in the batting order with a current average of 71.

That represents the best average of any India batter making his maiden Test tour of Australia, and the best of any visiting batter (minimum two Tests) since Pakistan's Azhar Ali returned 81.2 from his three matches in 2016-17.

But even though he came into the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series uncapped and seemingly unknown, his potential was no secret among the Australia bowlers who found no chink in his formidable armour across four hours batting at the MCG today.

A phenomenal runs scorer at junior level – he averaged 176 in India's domestic under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy competition where he followed a breakthrough triple-century for Andhra with a knock of 441 (from 345 balls) – he quickly progressed to senior level.

That's where the now 21-year-old honed his pace-bowling skills to take the new ball and develop into a genuine allrounder, and his potential was noticed by IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad where Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins captained this year.

Having been chosen for the India A outfit that played two games against Australia A prior to the first NRMA Insurance Test at Perth last month, Reddy also found himself in a battle with current Test quick Scott Boland at the MCG.

The scores that Reddy returned in those A games at Mackay and Melbourne – 0, 17, 16 and 38 – scarcely suggested he was ripe for Test promotion and his first-class record of a sole century and two 50s from 21 outings prior to this tour was also underwhelming.

However, if the glimpses he showed in his debut appearance at Perth where India recorded a thumping 295-run win didn't alert Australia to the threat he posed, then his extraordinary innings at Adelaide weeks later surely did.

Not only did the assured right-hander launch Australia's fastest bowler Mitchell Starc beyond the extra cover boundary, he followed up with an extraordinary reverse-scoop from the often-unhittable Boland that cleared a wide-eyed slips cordon on its way for six.

It's the same type of unorthodoxy that launched Australia's teen opener Sam Konstas on to myriad front pages when he pulled it off in his debut knock on Thursday, but Reddy's career was only two innings older when he did it in Adelaide.

"He looks like he's got pretty much every shot in the book," Boland said this evening in trademark understatement after Reddy's unbeaten 105 had narrowed India's first innings deficit to 115 with two days to play.

"He can score all around the ground.

"He obviously does well in the IPL and doing well in Australian conditions as well.

"He's playing really nicely, coming in the middle-lower order but trying to put the pressure back on us."

Given his current ranking among India's batting riches, and the reality that he had been forced into some extravagant shot-making while batting with tailenders, it might have been surmised that Reddy was an aggressive hitter whose technical capacity could be found wanting.

However, heading to the wicket at number eight today (he had dropped down the order due to fast bowler Akash Deep's deployment as night watch) and with India in peril at 7-221 in reply to Australia's 474, he showed he is indeed a young man for any occasion.

His only notable misstep in his 176-ball stay to date came when he was on 97 and in danger of being stranded short of his milestone moment after Washington Sundar – with whom he added 127 for the eighth wicket – departed for 50.

Not convinced number 10 Jasprit Bumrah could hang around long enough for Reddy to take his time finding those additional three runs, the youngster aimed a hefty swing at the final ball of a Boland over that soared above extra cover from a leading edge.

Reddy hared off thinking he'd got a sufficient piece of the shot to get the triple he required, but upon scampering back for the second of those he realised his miscalculation and put his hand to his brow knowing he was 99 not out but stuck at the non-striker's end.

That anxiety level compounded exponentially when Bumrah duly departed for a three-ball duck, but India's last man Mohammed Siraj endured three agonising deliveries and Reddy then patted back a couple more before belting Boland to the mid-on boundary.

With only one wicket to claim before Australia begin their second innings, Reddy seems certain to revert to the all-out attack mode that characterised his method in the first three Tests of his tenure.

If he can survive for any length of time, and given his current Test strike rate of almost 70 per 100 balls faced (including eight sixes from his six innings), the current deficit could dwindle quickly unless Australia can swiftly wrap things up.

Boland, who has played a majority of his senior cricket at the MCG, agrees there's not as much on offer in the pitch as has been the case in recent summers past when seamers have dominated.

"It started off with a fair bit of nip in it," Boland said of the surface on which Australia managed just 3-194 from 70 overs before rain brought a premature end on Saturday.

"I think there's still a bit of nip there at the moment but not as consistent as I'd like as a bowler.

"I think it's going to be a pretty good Test match wicket.

"I'm not too sure it's going to spin too much more, there's a decent amount of grass on there.

"I'm definitely hoping it spins a lot more, but hopefully there will be some variable bounce just as Test match wickets get a bit more tired.

"That would be ideal for us as a bowling group."

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal