India star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the lone bright spot for the visitors as he looked a league apart from the rest of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 6-76 in 28 overs. Jasprit Bumrah was at his stunning best as he helped India claw back in the third Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane.
After rain washed out most of play on Day 1, the Indians expected better conditions on Day 2, however, there was nothing on offer for the bowlers, but for a player of the calibre of Jasprit Bumrah, it hardly mattered. Jasprit Bumrah got the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney to put Australia under pressure. Nitish Reddy followed Jasprit Bumrah’s stunning spell with the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne and soon Australia were reeling at 77-3.
This was the time when Indian cricket fans last enjoyed the game, maybe, because Steve Smith and Travis Head only handed painful blows for the next 50 overs. The Australian legends scored their respective tons, stitching a double-hundred partnership, and taking Australia to 316-3.
With a new ball in hand, Jasprit Bumrah produced magic as he triggered a collapse, getting rid of Steve Smith (151), Mitchell Marsh (5), and Travis Head (152) to bring India back into the contest. The five-wicket haul was Jasprit Bumrah’s eighth in SENA countries, the most by any Indian. He surpassed the legendary Kapil Dev who took seven five-wicket hauls.
Meanwhile, the five wickets in the innings took Jasprit Bumrah’s tally of Test wickets to 190 which helped him create a unique record. Bumrah became the first bowler in the world to take 190 wickets at an average of less than 20 (19.82). Jasprit Bumrah tops the list of bowlers with the best average (min. 190 wickets)
Day 3 : Morning Session : Jasprit Bumrah’s 6-Wicket Haul the only bright spot for India as Australian quicks dominates rain marred session
Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood left India in disarray on the third morning of the Brisbane Test after Australia pushed their total to 445. In a stop-start session affected by frequent drizzles, the visitors were reduced to 22 for 3 with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli sent back to the sheds for single-digit scores.
After a third spell of rain delayed the start of India’s first innings, Mitchell Starc accounted for Jaiswal once more, this time with his second delivery. The mode of the dismissal though might not have been planned for as India’s young southpaw flicked a full ball straight to the fielder placed in front of square. Mitchell Marsh then pulled off a superb catch at Gully as Gill looked to drive Starc without quite getting his balance right while moving forward.
Kohli suffered near misses in his short stay as he was beaten on the drive and then hurried by a short ball. His 16-ball stay ended in a rather familiar manner as he went after a Hazlewood ball on the sixth stump line and feathered an edge to the ‘keeper. Another spell of rain then brought a sorry end to the session for India, who now face an uphill battle to save the Test despite all the lost time.
Earlier, Australia added 40 runs to their overnight score of 405 in a little over an hour before India took the last of the three remaining wickets. After a five-minute delay to start proceedings because of rain, Alex Carey completed a 53-ball half-century with a well-swept boundary off Ravindra Jadeja. Starc swung a six and a four before nicking off against Jasprit Bumrah, giving India’s bowling leader his sixth wicket of the innings. That also took Jasprit Bumrah’s Test tally in Australia to 50 wickets, a feat only Kapil Dev had achieved for India before
Resuming Day 3 at their overnight score of 405-7, Australia added 40 more runs, largely thanks to wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who scored a quickfire 70 off 88 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes. Mitchell Starc contributed a handy 18-run cameo. Jasprit Bumrah opened the bowling for India and quickly claimed his sixth wicket by dismissing Starc. Mohammed Siraj cleaned up Nathan Lyon, while Akashdeep took the final wicket, dismissing Carey.
Australia’s last three wickets added 40 runs to their overnight 405 for 7. There were brief spells of rain either side of the 17.1 overs they took to do so as well as one in between, after Jasprit Bumrah removed Pat Cummins to pick up his sixth wicket of the innings and his 50th in Tests in Australia.
Alex Carey, who had raced to 45 on the evening of day two to keep Australia’s advantage intact after a three-wicket burst from Jasprit Bumrah, brought up his half-century and played some resplendent strokes – including an effortless six over wide long-off off Akash Deep – before he was last out for 70. He was out to Akash Deep, who finally got a wicket with the 53rd false shot he had induced in the innings.
The next 10 overs, either side of another 14-minute rain delay, brought only 22 runs with Australia happy to bide their time in a bid for a bat-once total. India spread their field out for Carey and used the period to manage Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, taking him off the attack after a three-over spell. Eventually, Mohammed Siraj bowled a full delivery and breached Nathan Lyon’s defenses before Akash Deep had Carey caught at deep mid-wicket for 70 with a short ball for his only wicket at the end of 29.5 overs of toil.
Day 3 : Post Lunch Session : KL Rahul only constant as India in jeopardy in between rain breaks
India found themselves in the doldrums despite rains reducing play to just 30.2 overs over the first two sessions of the third day’s play of the Brisbane Test. At the Tea interval, which was taken after yet another spell of showers, the visitors were tottering at 48 for 4 in response to Australia’s first-innings total of 445.
India’s batters weren’t helped by the stop-start nature of the day’s play that allowed Australia’s seamers to rest and return fresh after each interval but Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were also able to create more jeopardy out of the Gabba surface owing to their higher release points compared to the Indian quicks. That said, India shot themselves in the foot with some of their shot selection.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal fell second ball of the innings after flicking a Starc delivery straight to square leg, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were done in attempting booming drives without quite getting their balance right while moving forward. Gill was dismissed by Starc courtesy a sharp, diving take at gully by Mitchell Marsh while Kohli fell in a rather familiar fashion when he drove loosely at a ball on the sixth stump from Josh Hazlewood.
By then, India were already one down, with Yashasvi Jaiswal having fallen second ball, flicking Starc uppishly and straight to Mitchell Marsh at square leg. Starc struck once more in his second over, slanting a full one away from Shubman Gill and inducing a drive away from the body with his head not on top of the ball. The ball flew quickly to the left of gully, and Marsh was once again in position to intercept it, this time with a spectacular dive to his left.
As much as the ball was doing off the deck, both of India’s wickets had fallen to avoidable shots, and the trend continued when Kohli – who, in the previous over, had to react quickly to fend away a Starc lifter that leapt towards his head – drove loosely at a wide one from Hazlewood and edged behind, falling early once again in series marked by uncertainty outside off stump.
Rain returned immediately after Kohli’s dismissal, prompting lunch to be taken early, and there was another interruption 11 balls after resumption. None of this was helping Australia’s victory push, but it was also keeping their fast bowlers fresh. It also meant India’s batters had to get their eye in multiple times.
Rain returned 11 balls into the start of the second session and then again after another 3.5 overs. Five balls into another restart, India lost Rishabh Pant when he poked at a length delivery from Pat Cummins angled across him. Between this batting crisis, KL Rahul got himself to 30* playing a series of pleasing cover drives despite copping a painful blow to his left wrist early in his innings.
Day 3 : Afternoon Session : Australia in the box seat even after another rain-affected Day.
At least one result – India win – was virtually written off after a heavily truncated third day’s play in Brisbane which saw only 33.1 overs of stop-start action. Even with just two days left in the game with forecasts for more rain, Australia will entertain thoughts of pushing for a 2-1 series lead after their fast bowlers led by Mitchell Starc reduced India to 51 for 4 in 17 overs after the hosts posted 445 in the first innings.
The rains returned 11 balls into the start of the second session and then again after another 3.5 overs. Five balls into another restart, India lost Rishabh Pant when he poked at a length delivery from Pat Cummins angled across him. Another spell of torrential rain led to a break for nearly two and a half hours either side of the scheduled Tea break, after which the players returned for a couple of overs of spin under fading light before another drizzle forced the players off for good this time.
All this, and superb bowling, contributed to India’s next wicket, with Cummins slanting one across Rishabh Pant from over the wicket and landing it on the perfect line and length to draw an uncertain forward-defensive push. Australia have noted Pant’s tendency to aim down the ground while defending balls angled across him, rather than going with the angle and playing later and squarer on the off side. This particular ball threatened to swing back into Pant before nipping away off the pitch, and found his edge through to Carey.
All through this, Rahul had batted with something approaching certainty, showing excellent judgment in the fourth-stump channel as well as a readiness – both in terms of intent and the timing of his weight transfer – to drive balls pitched up to him. Apart from one sliced effort that flew through the backward point region, he drove with certainty, picking up three fours through the covers on his way to 33 off 64 balls at stumps. With him was his captain Rohit Sharma, who was still to open his account.
Between the rain breaks and the stumble, KL Rahul worked himself to an unbeaten 33, playing a series of pleasing cover drives despite copping a painful blow to his left wrist early in his innings.
Road Ahead on Day 4 for Australia and India
Well, an extremely frustrating day that. It was a bit of a masquerade every time they came out there as the rain hung around Brisbane like an annoying mosquito that disappears as soon as you flick the light on but promptly returns to torment you as you turn it off. Well, in the little play that did happen, India didn’t have a good time of it again. Australia decided to resume batting in the morning and added about 40 runs to their overnight total.
India’s innings started off on the wrong-foot as Jaiswal edged his first delivery for four and was caught off his second. India needed some application from Gill and Kohli but they didn’t get it from them as both fell trying to chase wide deliveries outside off. Pant was the next to fall after nicking off to Starc to leave India in trouble 44/4.
Mind you, all of this happened in between the numerous interruptions and the Indian batters simply weren’t allowed an opportunity to get settled. Now, they trail by 394 and their fortunes in this game look bleak. What looks even bleaker, however, is tomorrow’s weather forecast. There are heavy showers and storms predicted for the entire morning and afternoon so today’s annoyance might unfortunately still persist tomorrow.
Only 33.1 overs were possible on what may have been the stop-startiest day in the history of Test cricket, featuring as many as eight stoppages for rain, but Australia kept alive their hopes of going 2-1 up with two days remaining at the Gabba. They stretched their first-innings total to 445 on the morning of day three before Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins ripped out India’s top order over the remainder of the day’s play, in between the many rain breaks.
India went to stumps at 51 for 4, 394 runs adrift of Australia, and their first target when the Test match resumes will be to get to 246 to avoid the follow-on. If they get there, they dramatically improve their chances of getting to Melbourne with the series still level. Rain is expected on days four and five as well, so Australia may be battling time if they’re forced to bat again.