India vs Australia: Will rain play spoilsport on Day 2 after allowing just 13.2 overs of play on the opening day?

The opening day of the third Test between India and Australia in Brisbane turned out to be quite the damp squib, with rain allowing a little over 13 overs of play before forcing the umpires to declare stumps earlier than expected. There was plenty of excitement among the two teams as well as fans heading into the Gabba Test with the series currently level at one-all following India’s thumping victory in Perth and Australia’s defiant comeback in Adelaide.

There was also a fair bit of history associated with the venue heading into the third Test. After all, it was at the Gabba where the Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian team completed an epic 2-1 series triumph in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a three-wicket victory, ending Australia’s 32-year undefeated run at the venue.

Plenty of fans were spotted wearing Rishabh Pant masks on Day 1, with the Indian wicketkeeper-batter having starred in that famous victory with an unbeaten 89 that helped the visitors successfully chase down a target of 328.

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Coming to the ongoing Test, India skipper Rohit Sharma opted to field after winning the toss. While Australia brought Josh Hazlewood back in place of Scott Boland, India made a double change – bringing Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep in place of Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshit Rana.

Senior batter Usman Khawaja was unbeaten on 19 with opening partner Nathan McSweeney on 4 for company as Australia reached 28/0 after 13.2 overs before the players rushed back to the dressing rooms. It wasn’t the only interruption on the opening day though as the covers had to be brought out halfway through the sixth over, although the players were back on the field after 30 minutes.

Will rain play spoilsport on Day 2 of the third Test between India and Australia?

Though not as bad as the opening day, rain is expected to hold up proceedings on Day 2 of the third Test.

According to Sunday’s weather forecast for Brisbane, there is a 46 per cent chance of rain with a 9 per cent chance of thunderstorm. “A shower in the area in the morning; otherwise, cloudy and humid,” reads the forecast on the website.

The second day, thus, could witness interruptions in the morning session. With plenty of moisture in the air and overcast conditions expected in the remainder of the day, the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian pace unit will get plenty of assistance as they aim to restrict the hosts to a modest total.