AUS vs IND: Day one’s play of Third Test called off in Brisbane due to incessant rains

Team India took on the hosts Australia in the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) at The Gabba in Brisbane, on Saturday, December 14. The conditions were overcast and Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma in a bid to leverage the bowling-friendly conditions, opted to bowl first. Almost 14 over into the game, Australia were 28/0 with their opening pairs, Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney unbeaten on 19* and 4* runs, respectively. 

Akash Deep was bracing to bowl his third delivery of the fourth over when the rain gods decided to cover the Brisbane. It started pouring without providing any hint of slowing down. The covers were left on the ground to resist the heavy rains. The Lunch was taken on time and the waiting game was pursued but the rain did not seem to cede. 

At around 11:45 IST (16:15 AEST), the play was called off and it was Stumps on Day 1 after just 13.2 overs of play. On Day 2, the game will commence at 9:50 am AEST and 98 overs will be bowled on the second day and a full day of cricket is hoped from both sides of the world. 

“We're going to bowl first. Little bit overcast and little bit of grass, looks a bit soft as well, want to make best use of the conditions. Lot of cricket to be played, both teams have played good cricket in the last two games. Big game for us here, we'll do what is expected of us. We'll play good cricket, we understand we have to capture some moments, we didn't do that in the previous game which is why we lost,” said Rohit Sharma at the toss.

Khawaja played with positive intent against India in first session

Australia opener Usman Khawaja looked solid and played with positive intent on the opening Day of the Brisbane Test. Notably, during his unbeaten stay on the crease, he pulled pacer Mohammed Siraj twice to sail the ball past the boundary. Unlike his defensive gameplay in Adelaide and Perth, the batter looked to put the Indian bowlers under pressure by shifting his gears unlike the first two games of the BGT 2024-25 series.

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Besides, Khawaja also narrowly caressed the bowl down to the fine leg region to collect another boundary. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah who has been sensational with the ball in the ongoing series, swayed away from his usual line and lengths in Brisbane. Moreover, he was also found bowling too straight giving the Australian batters not much trouble. On the other hand, Khawaja's partner, Nathan McSweeney, also showed his intent to bid his time by in the crease despite a tight spell bowled by the Indians in the third Test.