Watch cricket video highlights of India tour of Australia 2024. 3rd Test between Australia and India. Venue of the match will be Brisbane.
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Australia maintained their chances of leading 2-1 with two days left at the Gabba, despite the fact that just 33.1 overs were feasible on what may have been the stop-startiest day in Test cricket history, with up to eight stoppages due to rain. On the morning of day three, they increased their first-inning total to 445 before Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins destroyed India’s top order for the rest of the day’s play, interspersed with many rain delays.
When the Test match starts, India’s first goal will be to reach 246 in order to avoid the follow-on after they were bowled out at 51 for 4, 394 runs behind Australia. They have a far better chance of reaching Melbourne with the series still tied if they make it there. Australia could be fighting time if they have to bat again because rain is predicted for days four and five as well. Australia’s overnight 405 for 7 was increased by 40 runs with their final three wickets.
After Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Pat Cummins to take his sixth wicket of the innings and his 50th in Australian Test cricket, there were short bursts of rain on either side of the 17.1 overs they required to do this, as well as one in between. Before being last out for 70, Alex Carey, who had rushed to 45 on the twilight of day two to preserve Australia’s lead following a three-wicket burst from Bumrah, reached his half-century and displayed some magnificent blows, including an easy six over wide long-off off Akash Deep.
After causing the 53rd false shot of the innings, he was out to Akash Deep, who eventually claimed a wicket. With all three of them standing at least 6’5″, Australia’s fast bowlers then started to demonstrate how much more they could get out of this Gabba surface than India’s quicks had achieved, due to both home and height advantage. When they struck the pitch on a length or behind of it, they frequently discovered seam movement. Occasionally, they also experienced uncomfortable bounce, as Hazlewood struck KL Rahul’s wrist with his opening delivery of the game.
Yashasvi Jaiswal had fallen second ball, flicking Starc uppishly and straight to Mitchell Marsh at square leg, putting India behind one by that point. With his head off the ball, Starc hit again in his second over, slanting a full one away from Shubman Gill and causing a drive away from the body. Marsh was once again in position to intercept the ball, this time with a fantastic dive to his left, as it sailed swiftly to the left of Gully. Both of India’s wickets had fallen to avoidable shots, just as the ball was doing off the deck.
This pattern continued when Kohli, who had to quickly block a Starc lifter that leaped towards his head in the previous over, drove loosely at a wide one from Hazlewood and edged behind, falling early once more in a series that was characterized by uncertainty outside off stump. After Kohli was dismissed, the rain came back right away, forcing an early lunch break. Eleven balls after play resumed, there was another pause. All of this was keeping Australia’s fast bowlers fresh, but it wasn’t helping them drive for victory.
Additionally, it meant that the hitters from India had to get their eye in several times. With Cummins slanting one across Rishabh Pant from over the wicket and putting it on the ideal line and length to elicit an unsure forward-defensive push, all of this, along with some excellent bowling, helped India take their second wicket. In contrast to playing later and squarer on the off side and going with the angle, Australia has seen Pant’s propensity to shoot down the ground while defending balls directed across him.
This particular ball edged through to Carey after threatening to swing back into Pant and then nibbling away from the ground. Rahul had batted with something like assurance throughout, displaying superb fourth-stump channel judgement and a propensity to smash balls pitched up to him in terms of both intent and timing of his weight shift. He drove with confidence, hitting three fours through the covers his route to 33 off 64 balls at stumps, with the exception of one chopped attempt that went past the backward point region. Rohit Sharma, his captain, who had yet to establish his account, was with him.
