India are currently taking on Australia in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 at the iconic Gabba Cricket Ground in Brisbane. Steven Smith, who is arguably one of the greatest Australian batters of all time, had not performed up to expectations in the series so far. However, Steven Smith roared back into form in the third Test as he took the Indian bowlers for a toss. The legendary right-hander batter Steven Smith smashed a century, the 33rd in his Test career. With this he achieve a remarkable feat.
Steven Smith smashed 101 from 190 balls in the third Test against India in what was a masterclass in red-ball batting. This was his 10th century against India in Test Cricket in his 41st innings against the opposition. Steven Smith now becomes the first batter in history to slam 10 centuries against India in under 50 innings. Steven Smith is the player with the joint-most number of tons in the longest format of the game against India. Joe Root also has scored 10 hundreds against India in Tests in 55 innings.
Travis Head and Steve Smith scored centuries as the duo laid into India’s bowling on a largely well-mannered surface at The Gabba, to put Australia in the box seat to dictate proceedings for the three remaining days of the Brisbane Test.
Day 2 : Morning Session : India strike thrice in riveting session of play before Lunch
India struck thrice in an engrossing and extended opening session on the second day of the Brisbane Test with Jasprit Bumrah extending his mastery over Australia’s openers. The hosts added 76 runs at a lowly run-rate of 2.56 as veteran Steven Smith battled through the attritional period of play after going back to an old technique that had served him well.
After the gloom of the opening day, the early start to Day 2 was marked by a refreshing shade of powdery blue above The Gabba. It also brought out an elevated version of Bumrah. India’s talisman had bowled slightly straighter and slightly shorter at Usman Khawaja through his six overs on the opening day. But the anticipated course correction came early as he produced a dreamy spell upfront.
Operating on the fuller side of the good length band between six and eight meters, Bumrah forced Khawaja to come forward but the length was still not full enough to drive. Playing on the batter’s indecision, he beat Khawaja on the inside edge and then twice on the outside edge in his very first over. He then struck with the first ball of his next as Khawaja tentatively poked at a ball in the fourth-stump channel, a ball that straightened to kiss the edge on it’s way to Rishabh Pant for the ‘keeper’s 150th dismissal behind the stumps.
The other opener, Nathan McSweeney, had gotten away on the opening day by facing just three balls from Bumrah. He faced only two more this morning before he edged a ball that straightened against the angle to second slip. That dismissal gave Bumrah a stunning average of 4.28 against Australia’s openers in this series for a total of seven dismissals (McSweeney 4, Khawaja 3) in just three Tests.
It was almost inevitable, however, that he would find it as soon as day two dawned. His six-over spell in the morning was all but unplayable, with 14 of his 30 balls inducing false shots, and two of them sending back Australia’s openers. He drew Usman Khawaja onto the front foot and got him feeling for the ball three times in a row, beating his bat with the last two balls of his first over of the day and finding his edge of the first ball of his second.
An over later, Nathan McSweeney had fallen to Bumrah for the fourth time in his five-innings Test career, squaring up and edging an away-seamer to second slip, where Virat Kohli took the first of his three catches on the day. Bumrah had bowled five overs on day one, but McSweeney had only faced three balls from him. Now he was out, having been exposed to his nemesis for three balls in a row, leaving their overall Test-match head-to-head reading 52 balls, 12 runs, four dismissals.
At 38 for 2, Steven Smith walked out to join Marnus Labuschagne with his exaggerated back and across trigger, backing his eye to keep away the straight balls. India attacked him with a leg slip and even had Akash Deep bowl around the wicket to him with a couple of fielders in the deep. The experienced pair survived the remnants of the opening burst to get a look at India’s third and fourth seamers.
Labuschagne faced more of Mohammed Siraj and did a good job leaving the ball on length and trusting the bounce on the surface. Steven Smith worked himself into a semblance of batting rhythm against Nitish Reddy, happy to tuck away the inexperienced seamer for runs on the on-side.
The pair added 37 runs but India ensured those runs took nearly 15 overs to be conceded. On the rare occasion when the strike turned, Nitish got Labuschagne to drive at a full and wide delivery outside the off-stump and the ensuing edge was expertly taken at second slip by Virat Kohli moving to his right.
A tense period followed, with Labuschagne and Smith putting on 37 off 89 balls, with their doggedness at leaving the ball on length standing out as the main feature of their partnership. It may not have made the pulse race, but it served an important function for Australia, allowing Head to walk in when the ball was 33.2 overs old and doing significantly less than at the start of the day, and when the three main quicks had already bowled 29 overs between them.
India also had a couple of close calls against Steven Smith too when the veteran batter shouldered arms to a nip-backer from Siraj and was saved by the ‘Umpire’s Call’. Steven Smith also managed to get a little inside on to his pads to a full ball from the excellent Akash Deep. India’s bright morning was given a scare when Siraj hobbled off the field two balls into the seventh over of his spell clutching his left hamstring, but did return to the field before the end of the session.
Day 2 : Post Lunch Session : Travis Head ton alongside calm Steven Smith helps Australia hit back after early strikes
Travis Head continued to be the scourge of India as he recorded his third hundred in six innings against them to power Australia to a dominant position at Tea on the second day of the Brisbane Test. Head (103*) got to a second successive three-figure score and his unbeaten stand of 159 with a resolute Steven Smith (65*) took the hosts to 234 for 3, casting further aspersions over Rohit Sharma’s decision at the toss yesterday in what has turned out to be a good pitch to bat on so far.
In stark contrast to the more attritional opening session, the post-lunch period saw the pair of Head and Smith make most use of a ball that was already 43 overs old to begin with. In just the first hour, the pair managed 54 risk-free runs off 13 overs as the Indian captain went through his bowling options in search of a breakthrough. Bumrah bowled just the two overs to start where he beat Steven Smith on both edges of his bat but saw Head ramp an attempted short ball over the cordon for four.
Akash Deep swapped ends but even that didn’t buy him any luck as he continued to draw false responses without finding the edge. At one point, he beat Steven Smith off two successive deliveries and then pinged him on the pads with one that was angled into the right-hander. India reviewed in hope but saw the projected path of the ball to be missing the stumps.
At the other end though, India found barely anything to trouble Head, who raced away to a third straight 50+ score in the series. Rohit had his bowlers operate with a deep point right from the start of Head’s innings, but while that fielder saved a few boundaries, Head had other avenues to motor along. Ravindra Jadeja was brought on after 48 overs and with not much spin on offer, the left-arm spinner was hit over mid-off for a pair of boundaries.
Head went up the gears soon after completing his half-century, taking apart the pair of Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj. He scored 31 off 40 deliveries off Jadeja while Siraj’s five-over spell in the session went for 30 runs.
The seamer attempted to use the short ball but couldn’t get the ball up near the batter’s armpits and Head could both ramp the balls over the cordon or pull between two fielders on the legside for as many as four boundaries. With the field spread out, there were also easy singles for Head to take as he milked an attack that appeared consigned to wait for the second new ball.
While Steven Smith nudged to his half-century off 128 deliveries, Travis Head needed only 44 balls to go from 50 to 100 to pile on the misery for India in a session where they managed no wickets.
Day 2 : Afternoon Session : Steven Smith’s majestic 33rd Test Ton alongside Travis Head’s blistering 152 sums up Australia’s dominance after Bumrah’s 5-fer
Travis Head and Steven Smith scored centuries as the duo laid into India’s bowling on a largely well-mannered surface at The Gabba, to put Australia in the box seat to dictate proceedings for the three remaining days of the Brisbane Test. Head continued to be the scourge of India as his 160-ball 152 marked his third ton in six innings against India, including two from the last two.
Steven Smith has historically enjoyed playing India in this format and got to his 10th ton against them, and 33rd overall, but his battling 101 was just his first three-figure score in a lean 2024, ending a sequence of low scores. The pair’s 241-run stand for the fourth wicket either side of Jasprit Bumrah’s bursts that led to another five-fer – his 12th in just 43 Tests – took the hosts to a commanding 405 for 7 at Stumps.
The Head-Smith partnership, that spanned just three deliveries short of 50 overs, served not only to put the hosts in the ascendancy at a delicate juncture of the series but also shone a harsh spotlight on some of India’s decision making, including the one to bowl first. More crucially, the visitors were also left to ponder their bowling resources and depth for the conditions.
Between them, India’s fourth and fifth bowlers – Nitish Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja – bowled 29 overs for 141 runs and one wicket while Mohammed Siraj, the other lead pacer, battled cramps in humid conditions and returned a solitary wicket while going at 4.34 runs to the over.
Bumrah though continued to be the gold standard of fast bowling. After the gloom of the opening day, the early start to Day 2 was marked by a refreshing shade of powdery blue above The Gabba. It also brought out an elevated version of India’s bowling talisman. He had bowled slightly straighter and slightly shorter at Usman Khawaja through his six overs on the opening day, but the anticipated course correction came early as he produced a dreamy spell upfront.
The bigger issue for India was their lack of sustained wicket threat beyond their three main quicks. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja, their fourth and fifth bowlers, gave away 141 runs over a combined 29 overs, while picking up just the one wicket. That wicket was a vital one, leaving Australia 75 for 3, but it was revealing that it was the result of a loose drive from Marnus Labuschagne rather than a genuine wicket-taking delivery.
The problem of the fourth and fifth bowler was particularly pronounced after the tea break, when India resumed with a 70-over-old ball. It left them with a conundrum: they could either start the session with their best bowlers, or preserve them for the second new ball which was 10 overs away. They started with Reddy and Jadeja, and went on to concede 63 runs in the first 10 overs of the session.
Between overs 60 and 80, Australia plundered 127 runs, including 63 in the first 10 overs after the Tea break leading into the second new ball. Head needed only 44 balls to go from 50 to 100 while Steven Smith, having got to his half-century off 128 balls, took only 57 more for his second fifty managing his own highlight reel of all his famous hits along the way.
Eventually, it took another Bumrah spell with the second new ball to bring India a semblance of control. He took three wickets in a span of 12 balls, all to catches behind the wicket, to complete a superb five-fer, his second of the series to go with another four-fer in Adelaide. But even after slipping to 327 for 6, the end of another Bumrah spell was the signal for Australia to cash in on the rest and, the pair of Alex Carey and Pat Cummins added another 58 runs for the seventh wicket, with the former finishing unbeaten on 45 off 47 at the close of play.
Road Ahead on Day 3 for Australia and India
A day of toil for India. The morning started well enough with Bumrah removing both openers quickly and then Nitish Reddy getting rid of Labuschagne soon after. Post lunch though, India were just hunting leather as Travis Head got going once more. He arrived at the crease when Australia were 75/3 and by the time he was finally dismissed for 152, he’d taken Australia to a position of strength at 327/6.
He scored freely from the moment he came to the crease and initially, almost helped Smith along at the other end. Once the partnership started to blossom, Smith started to find his groove too and they piled on the runs. They shared a 241-run stand during which an out-of-form Smith found his mojo. It finally came to an end in the third session when Bumrah dismissed him for 101.
There was a little period where India clawed their way back into the game after that as Bumrah also managed to dismiss Marsh and Head in quick succession but with little support from the other end, India allowed the game to drift once again after that.
Carey and Cummins stitched up another 50-run stand and even as Cummins departed late in the day, Carey continued to look comfortable and took Australia past 400. Long and hard day for India that with Bumrah looking like the only potent weapon once more. He’s already picked up another fifer and he desperately needs someone else to step up.
Centuries from Travis Head and Steven Smith, those two great India tormentors, put Australia in control of the third Border-Gavaskar Test at the Gabba, on a fast-moving second day that produced 377 runs and seven wickets. Five of those wickets fell to the exceptional Jasprit Bumrah, who kept India in the contest almost singlehandedly while swelling his overall Test tally in Australia to 49; Kapil Dev (51) is now the only Indian bowler ahead of him.
Almost singlehandedly, because Bumrah wasn’t the only India quick to trouble Australia here. Akash Deep kept landing the ball in testing areas and induced almost as many false shots (45) as Bumrah did (46), but ended the day wicketless. Mohammed Siraj put in a solid shift too, and for most of the first session India applied pressure from both ends and had Australia on a tight leash.
The lack of depth in India’s attack began to tell as the day wore on, though, and Australia pulled away as Head and Smith added a rollicking 241 for the fourth wicket in 302 balls. The second new ball gave India some respite, with Bumrah dismissing Smith, Mitchell Marsh and Head in the space of 12 balls, but Australia were already in a superb position by then.
At stumps, they were 405 for 7, and in a position to dictate the shape of the rest of this Test match, although time (all but 13.2 overs of day one were washed out) and the weather may yet complicate their push for a win.