Aus v WI 3rd Test Day 3 Review: Draw inevitable as rain takes center stage

The rain factor will virtually end the Pink Test between Australia and West Indies in a draw. The third day’s play was abandoned without a ball being bowled as rain did not allow a single ball to be bowled. Constant drizzles made it impossible for the players to take the field at all. It’s just the third time in the past 20 years that a full day’s play had been lost in a Test in Australia.

The first day of the play was also affected by rain where 15 overs of play was not possible due to bad weather. The second day was even worse as only 11.2 overs could be bowled due to the damp conditions. The forecast for the fourth and the fifth day are also not very pleasing for the players the weather would be cloudy and showers are expected to pour in. But, there is unlikely to be enough rain to significantly affect the chances of play like it did today.

West Indies will resume in their first innings at 7 for 248. They are yet to face a full day’s quota of overs as only 86.2 overs have been bowled. West Indies batted 74.6 overs on the first day and had put up 197/6. The usual savior for West Indies in the current series, Craig Brathwaite (85) unluckily missed out on his century. Darren Bravo (33) also batted effectively but was dismissed by James Pattinson. The West Indies witnessed a slump in the middle order but Carlos Brathwaite and Denesh Ramdin held things together to ensure a satisfying end to the day.

The second day belonged to rain and Brathwaite. First rain delayed the start and only 3 balls of the Nathan Lyon over were possible. Upon returning from lunch, a determined Braithwaite batted with aggression and scored 69 off 71 deliveries before getting out to James Pattinson. And, that was it, a couple of overs later, rain interrupted again and forced the day to be called off.