- By Himanshu Badola
- Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:54 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India vs Australia 4th Test, Melbourne Weather Report Day 4: India managed to remain alive in the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne on the back of an impressive batting effort on the third day, all thanks to a memorable knock from Nitish Kumar Reddy.
India ended the rain-hit third day of the Boxing Day at the iconic MCG on 359/9 in their first innings and are still 116 runs behind with centurion Nitish Reddy (105) and Mohammed Siraj (2) at the crease.
Nitish smashed his maiden Test century and bailed the Indian team out of massive trouble on the back of a crucial 127-run stand with Washington Sundar for the eighth wicket. Sundar also smashed a fighting half-century before getting dismissed by Nathan Lyon.
While India will be looking to add more to their total in order to reduce the deficit, the hosts will have a golden chance to wrap things up early on the fourth day to maintain their dominance in the contest.
Resuming their innings from 164/5, India added a few more runs before losing the key wickets of Rishabh Pant (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (17).
The visitors were struggling at 221/7 when their depth in batting came into play as Nitish Reddy was joined by Sundar in the middle. The duo not only avoided the threat of follow-on but also gave the massive Indian crowd at the jam-packed stadium something to cheer about after a tough first two days.
The third day of the match witnessed a couple of rain interruptions and the play was even called off earlier due to bad light. While the fourth day awaits some thrilling action, the role of weather cannot be ruled out in Melbourne.
IND vs AUS 4th Test, Melbourne Weather Report For Day 4
According to Accuweather, there is only a 3 per cent chance of rain on Sunday in Melbourne which means continuous action is expected to be witnessed on day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India.
Bright sunshine will likely be around with partial clouds during the afternoon with 65 per cent cloud cover overhead.
The temperatures are expected to range between a maximum of 25 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 14 degrees Celsius.
IND vs AUS 4th Test: Changes in session timings for Day 4
Due to the loss of time on the third day with rain interruptions, the play will begin early on the fourth day at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The first session will begin half an hour early, i.e. at 4:30 AM IST. The first session will be 2.5 hours long and the lunch break is scheduled for 7 AM IST. It will be a 40-minute break. The second session (post-lunch session) will run from 7:40 AM IST to 9:40 AM IST before the tea break is taken.
The tea break will go on till 10 AM IST, before the final session commences from 10 AM IST and will run till 12:30 PM IST, if the weather permits.