Heading into Day 3 five wickets down and 310 runs behind Australia, India’s backs were well and truly up against the wall.

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But now, eight hours later, this gripping Test match has turned into the ultimate war of attrition. Yet another young Indian star has shone bright, while Australia’s bowling conundrum continues to hover as fatigue sets in.

Here are all the big Talking Points from day three of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne!

AUSSIES ENTER AWKWARD POSITION IN WIN BID

India’s superb resistance has had the dual-affect of restricting Australia’s hopes of securing a prized Boxing Day Test victory while also freshening Jasprit Bumrah for another assault in Melbourne.

While Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar’s partnership of 127 fell just two runs shy of the Indian record for an 8th wicket stand against Australia, it could yet prove invaluable for the series.

Fox Cricket expert broadcaster Harsha Bhogle said the deeds of the duo, who batted for 47 overs on Saturday, had brought the Indian attack time to regroup after Australia’s opening innings of 474.

Importantly, Bhogle told foxsports.com.au, it also demonstrated that India is up for the fight as it seeks to retain its stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy it has held for a decade.

“My fear at one point in Brisbane was that this could go downhill very quickly but the last 30 overs in Brisbane, India played well and avoided the follow on and took a few Aussie wickets,” he said.

“But the here, when Australia got 474, I thought, ‘Hang on. Bumrah can’t be bowling 20 to 30 overs like this.’ But what this partnership with Reddy and Washington has done is give Bumrah time to rest, time to relax. It’s also taken a lot of time out of this Test.

“Australia is still well ahead … but India is showing we can fight, which is a good sign. I was worried that, like in a tug of war, suddenly there might be a situation where you just throw in the towel and lose the next two Tests. I’m happy that has not happened.”

The events of the next two days at the MCG could define the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that is currently squared at 1-all.

Australia need to win the series to reclaim the prize while India will retain it if there is a draw. And who would bet on the Sydney weather to throw up anything but a draw based on recent years.

Although the early forecasts are promising, the New Year’s contest at the SCG has repeatedly been thwarted by rain, with four of the six most recent Sydney Tests ending as a draw.

As a result, it was not surprise to see Pat Cummins continuing to charge in as rain clouds gathered over the MCG in the hope of bowling out the tourists.

There are at least a couple of key factors which could determine whether that’s the case – the MCG pitch and Australia’s second innings.

The Melbourne deck flattened out on day three, transforming into a batting paradise that offered minimal assistance to Australia’s bowlers.

According to CricViz, which uses ball-tracking data to assess the pitch, Saturday at the MCG has been the best day for batting of the series thus far.

The maiden centurion Reddy and Washington Sundar took full advantage of this.

Asked on Fox Cricket if the MCG’s drop-in pitch would deteriorate over the coming 48 hours, former Australian batter Mark Waugh responded: “Nothing’s going to happen.”

“This pitch is showing no signs of getting any up and down bounce, there’s been no swing the whole game, no reverse swing, no normal swing. I can see it holding together all Test match,” he said.

While there will be no repeat of the Brisbane shenanigans, Australia’s top order is likely to bat aggressively on Sunday to ensure the bowlers have enough time to bowl India out on the fifth day.

Fox Cricket expert analyst Mike Hussey said that while in the ascendancy, the Australians are in a tricky position.

“It’s going to be a real balancing act for the Australians,” he said.

“They’re going to have to bat really positively in the second innings to get as big a lead as they possibly can, and then also give themselves time to bowl India out on what’s a very good batting pitch.

“It will be interesting to see how Australia go about their batting. They’re going to have to be aggressive, they’ve going to have to be positive, they’re going to have to look to score.

“They’ve going to have to try and build a lead as quickly as they possibly can to give themselves enough time to bowl India out.”

IS INDIA’S NEWEST STAR ‘WASTED’ AT NUMBER 8?

Four matches into his Test career, Nitish Kumar Reddy has quickly become renowned for his annoying runs.

Typically walking in at No. 8, the Indian all-rounder has time and time frustrated the Australians with handy lower-order runs, counterpunching when the hosts are looking to clean up the tail.

He top-scored for India in the first innings at Perth Stadium, doing so again in both knocks at Adelaide Oval with twin 42s.

But Saturday’s performance at the MCG proved he was no pinch-hitter. He’s the real deal.

Reddy clobbered an unbeaten century to help India avoid the dreaded follow-on, chewing into Australia’s first-innings lead at the icnoinc venue. Unfazed by a couple of early blows to the body, the right-hander slapped Nathan Lyon back over his head for six and carved Mitchell Starc’s wide deliveries through the covers.

After reaching his maiden Test fifty in 81 deliveries, he accelerated when Australia took the second new ball in the afternoon session, feasting on Starc’s wayward bowling with the fresh Kookaburra.

There were some tense scenes in the evening session as he approached triple figures, but despite running out of partners, he got the job done by smacking hometown hero Scott Boland back over his head.

Reddy has passed 40 on four occasions during this summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, more often than any player from either team. You could argue he’s been the most consistent batter of the series.

He has compiled 284 runs at 71.00 with a strike rate of 66.98. Only one player has accumulated more runs this summer – Australia’s Travis Head.

According to CricViz, the 21-year-old has the lowest false shot percentage (15 per cent) of any batter on either team this series.

Reddy’s success with the willow has prompted speculation of a promotion in the batting order – he’s yet to bat higher than No. 7 in the series.

“He needs to bat higher to make scores,” former Australian batter Simon Katich said on SEN.

“He’s wasted at seven and eight.“

The recent performances of Reddy and young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal have boosted optimism in India about the nation’s new generation, while Fox Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle believes that Shubman Gill, who was dropped for the MCG Test, remains a pivotal part of the furniture in coming years as well.

“This is a nice crop coming through. All I want now is for someone to get Shubman Gill right, because he’s a very special player. KL Rahul still has two to three years ahead of him if he continues batting like this,” Bhogle told foxsports.com.au.

“Nitish Reddy will move up, eventually, to number six or thereabouts. And if he develops his bowling a little bit, he could be in India the third seamer. In overseas conditions, he just comes in both a few overs, but he’ll make a big difference to the Indian side.

“So I’m very, I’m very bullish on Jaiswal, reasonably bullish on Nitish Reddy. And I’d like to see this fellow Shubman Gill come back. And if Washington (Sundar) can become even 75 per cent of an Ashwin, that’s asking a lot, but 70 to 75 per cent of Ashwin, then suddenly your side is looking a bit better.”

Sitting at stumps on Day 3 with 105 not out, the 21-year-old holds the record for the highest score by a number eight at the MCG. And it could still grow tomorrow early on Day 3.

STARC QUERIES ARISE AS MARSH UNDER UTILISED AGAIN?

The brutal nature of five-Test series is felt the hardest by fast bowlers, especially those who consistently bowl above 140km/h.

Not many in Australian Test history has done it for as long or consistently as Mitchell Starc has, but towards the end of the second session of Day 3, he may have just started to feel the pinch.

The left-arm veteran bowled without luck at times on the middle day of the Test, but having bowled himself into the ground alongside captain Pat Cummins in Brisbane, also looked understandably fatigued. In fairness, the MCG pitch was as flat as it has been all Test on Day 3, making Starc’s job as tough as it has been all series.

Briefly attended to by a team physio on the boundary before rain brought an early tea, Starc’s discomfort caught the eye of Australian modern-day great Michael Hussey.

“This would be a worry for Australia if there is something there,” Hussey said during the tea break.

“He’s been bowling as hard as he can throughout the series. It’s a five-Test series. He knew it was going to be a war of attrition (so) I’m sure he’ll get it looked at very closely.”

“Hopefully it’s nothing too serious for Australia, because they’re going to need him firing and fully fit if they’re going to win.”

With Josh Hazlewood sidelined with a calf strain and usual second-reserve quick Michael Neser still not fully fit from a hamstring tweak, all of a sudden, Australia’s fast bowling stocks could be tested.

There’s no indication as of yet that Starc would miss his home Test in Sydney next week, but on the off-chance he did, the Aussies do have cover in the form of a forgotten speedster and uncapped bowling all-rounder.

“They’ve got Sean Abbott and Jhye Richardson as part of the squad, so you’d expect one of those two to be the logical replacement (if required),” Hussey added.

It’s been over three years since Richardson last played the top red-ball format for Australia; a match where he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul against England in Adelaide.

His counterpart Abbott is yet to make his debut at Test level, but does boast 13 wickets from his two Sheffield Shield games this summer at an average just a tick under 20.

His in-game substitute Mitchell Marsh has either been not required, or not used this series beyond the first Test in Perth.

In India’s first innings, he has bowled seven overs across two separate spells. And while his second spell was much more containing than his first, Cummins periodically looked reluctant to turn to him as the eighth-wicket partnership between Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar blossomed.

Whether it’s his threat, fitness or something in between, the question will once again be asked: ‘How many overs would Beau Webster have bowled in his place?’

WELL PLAYED, MELBOURNE

If you ever need a reference as to just how gripping this rendition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is, take a peek at Melbourne’s crowd numbers this Test match.

Across the first three days of this Test, exactly 255,462 fans have attended the MCG at an average of 85, 154 per day. It has been borderline unprecedented.

Never have so many people attended Day 2 of a Boxing Day Test match than on Friday, who witnessed Steve Smith’s glistening 140, a Virat Kohli’s 15 minutes of madness and Scott Boland’s epic last session spell.

Day 1: 87,242

Day 2: 85,147

Day 3: 83,073

The current record attendance for a red-ball game in Melbourne sits at 271,865 in 2013 when Australia and England clashed amid Mitchell Johnson’s epic summer with the ball. That will be eclipsed with ease tomorrow on Day 4, but funnily enough, it isn’t the largest collective crowd Melbourne has ever hosted.

But nonetheless, on the back of three monster days play, the record for the largest ever crowd to an MCG Test is more than just in reaching distance

The record to beat was set 88 years ago, all the way back in the middle of the Bradman era.

The 1936 clash between Australia and England brought an eye-watering 350,534 viewers through the gate across six days (before the five-day mandate for Test matches was adopted).

And while there’s no one like Bradman, the mixture of emerging talent, star veterans and careers on the line arguably makes up for the absence of the greatest batter the game has ever seen. It has been a spectacle not seen for a long time, comparing with only some of the largest matches ever held on Australian shores.

“The World Cup in 2015 was big, of course,” Harsha Bhogle told foxsports.com.au.

“Then the Pakistan game in 2022 was big, and so was the Women’s World Cup Final. I mean, some people mockingly said it was the cheapest Katy Perry concert you’ll ever get, but there were still a lot of people who came to watch the game.”

And if India is right in the match, you might get a lot of Indians coming in tomorrow and the day after.

“There’s a lot of people who’ve come from India to watch these games. Truckloads. Plane loads of people have come from India to watch this Test match, and a lot will go back as soon as the Test match is over. There’s just so many people from India who have come to watch this.”

Nearly 102,000 flooded the Adelaide Oval for the first two days of the second Test, with the city once again hitting a home run with its attendance numbers.

Rain unfortunately ruined the vast majority of the Brisbane Test a fortnight ago, but a commendable 34,227 watched Day 2 at the ground.

Crowd numbers this series have been unsurprisingly strong, but Melburnians have taken attendance to another level this summer — speaking volumes to the standard of cricket fans have been blessed with these last five weeks.

AUSTRALIA’S OVER RATE IMPLICATIONS?

There’s currently a three-horse race for the two vacant spots in next year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s and it could be a tight finish.

A percentile of less than 7.5 separates South Africa, Australia and India on the WTC ladder. The Proteas will secure a place in the final if they defeat Pakistan in Centurion this week.

Australia faces a more difficult path to the WTC Final, needing wins against India and Sri Lanka to ensure qualification.

Every point matters, which is why Pat Cummins and his teammates clearly kept a watchful eye on the over rate in Melbourne on Saturday as play started to slow with the Indian batters on top.

With the second new ball approaching in India’s first innings on Saturday afternoon, the MCG big screen showed that Australia was five overs behind the required.

Desperate to avoid losing WTC points, Cummins threw the ball to spinners Travis Head, who entered the Test under a fitness cloud, and Nathan Lyon for a quick burst.

When a second burst of rain effectively ended the day prematurely shortly after 5.30pm, the Australians had reduced the deficit, but were three overs behind the desired rate.

The hosts have good reason to be cautious in what could have been a case of deja vu.

Four years ago, Australia was penalised for a slow over rate during the 2020 Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG.

The subsequent WTC points deduction, along with the historic loss at the Gabba, meant that Australia missed qualification for the maiden WTC Final in 2021.

The Indians were also sloppy with their over-rates on day one of the MCG Test, meaning the tourists could also be at risk of a sanction. Their fate lies with match referee Andy Pycroft.