India wasted no time stamping their authority on Day 3 of the opening Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad on Saturday, striking in style through a moment of brilliance from Nitish Reddy. The 22-year-old all-rounder lit up the morning session with a stunning catch at square leg to dismiss Tagenarine Chanderpaul, leaving fans and teammates equally thrilled.The breakthrough came in the eighth over of the West Indies innings when Mohammed Siraj banged one short into the left-hander. Chanderpaul, cramped for room, swivelled into a pull shot but failed to keep it down. The ball flew awkwardly to the left of square leg, where Reddy launched himself full length, grabbing it cleanly with both hands. Click here to watch the full video of the catch taken by Nitish ReddyThe dismissal ended Chanderpaul’s stay at 8 runs off 23 deliveries, and West Indies were reduced to 21/1.Siraj, operating with discipline alongside Jasprit Bumrah, exploited the early morning bounce to keep the visitors on the back foot.Earlier, India had declared their innings overnight on 448/5, taking a commanding 286-run lead. KL Rahul’s fluent century (100), Dhruv Jurel’s maiden ton (125), and Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 104 had already put the hosts in control. Jurel and Jadeja’s 206-run partnership for the fifth wicket ground the West Indies bowlers into submission, while Khary Pierre picked up his maiden Test scalp by dismissing Jurel.The West Indies’ batting resources looked thin, further hampered by the absence of injured pacers Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph. Without their spearheads, the Caribbean side has struggled to mount any serious challenge.With a huge cushion on the board and their bowlers already firing, India appear poised to wrap up proceedings quickly. Reddy’s blinder only added to the momentum, underlining why this Test looks firmly within India’s grasp.
