 "KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant shared a 22-run stand for the fourth wicket at Gabba on Monday. AP")
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Day 3 report: India were in trouble on Day three of the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Monday after they were restricted to 51/4 in their first innings. At stumps on a rain-curtailed Day three, India had KL Rahul (33*) and Rohit Sharma (0*) still batting, with the visitors trailing the Aussies by 394 runs. Australia, who resumed from their overnight score of 405/7, were dismissed for 445 in their first innings.
Playing the red Kookaburra has become tougher since they changed their ball in 2020 by adding extra lacquer on a reinforced seam, making it firmer and ensuring more movement off the pitch.
Under the circumstances, the Indians needed to be patient and play out the first 25-30 overs when bowlers of the calibre of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were in operation.
But the visiting top-order batters did not do what was required of them. The likes of Virat Kohli once again fell to deliveries in the channel just outside the off-stump.
There is no doubt that the conditions were challenging but the Indian batters could have taken a leaf out of Smith’s book as he initially negotiated testing spells of fast bowling from Akash Deep and Bumrah on way to a drought-breaking hundred.
Impact Shorts
View AllStarc, Hazlewood strike early
After Australia racked in nearly 450 runs, left-arm pacer Starc struck twice and Josh Hazlewood once as the two teams took an early lunch with the visitors reeling at 22 for three. Pat Cummins got the big wicket of Rishabh Pant in the second session to make matters worse for the Indians.
Returning to the middle after the lunch break, Rahul and Pant faced some hostile fast bowling from the duo of Starc and Hazlewood before heavy showers interrupted the proceedings, one of the many on the day.
Cummins kept three slips and a gully for Pant, as opposed to the four men in the slip cordon, and a gully for Rahul, when Hazlewood was operating. Starc had three slips, and two gullies when he had the red cherry in his hand.
The only fielder in front of the wicket during that phase of play in the second session was the man stationed at mid-off, reflecting the Australian bowlers’ dominance.
Starc removed Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second ball of the India innings and then dismissed Shubman Gill before Hazlewood accounted for Kohli as the visitors once again stared down the barrel after their failures in Adelaide.
Jaiswal was out caught by Mitchell Marsh at short mid-wicket while he tried to clip a Starc half-volley off his pads.
Gill was sent back when Marsh pulled off a brilliant catch in the slip cordon off the bowling of Starc after the India number three played away from the body. Kohli was dismissed in what has now become a familiar scene as he once again chased a length delivery outside off before nicking it to Alex Carey.
Starc too had a hand in the wicket of Kohli. After KL Rahul pulled a short ball from Hazlewood to long leg, Starc dived to save what seemed like a certain boundary, bringing the former Indian captain back on strike. Kohli was dismissed off the very next delivery.
This was after Hazlewood delivered a full-length ball outside off-stump to Kohli, who, instead of leaving the ball, attempted a drive, resulting in an outside edge.
This is the fourth time Kohli has been dismissed in such a fashion. Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has already advised him to explore an alternate route to tackle his weaknesses against deliveries on the fourth and fifth stump.
Earlier, with two slips and a gully, Bumrah started the proceedings with a 21-over old ball. Batting on 45 overnight, Carey swept Ravindra Jadeja for a boundary towards fine-leg to reach his half-century off just 53 balls.
Bumrah came back to bowl another maiden over before Mitchell Starc decided to get down on one knee to slog sweep Jadeja for a six over square leg.
For someone who is known for keeping one end tight with his accurate bowling, Jadeja was going at five runs an over, and the seasoned left-arm spinner’s profligacy put additional burden on a strained pace attack.
The surface at Gabba offered a bit of turn and bounce but Jadeja was guilty of bowling too straight to the left-handers.
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Day 3 Highlights: Australia were dismissed for 445 on Day three of the third Test against India in Brisbane on Monday. Centuries from Steve Smith and Travis Head had propelled Australia to 405/7 on Day two, but Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj took a wicket each to dismiss the hosts early on the third day.
At the time of writing this report, India were 7/2 in their first innings reply after having lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Shubman Gill (1). KL Rahul (1) and Virat Kohli (1) were the unbeaten batters.
The five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series is currently level 1-1. India won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs whereas Australia clinched a 10-wicket win in the second Test in Adelaide.
IND vs AUS, The Gabba weather forecast
The opening day of the third Test on Saturday witnessed just 13.2 overs being bowled due to rain and the start of play on Day three was delayed by five minutes due to rain. Monday witnessed a few more stoppages due to rain, and according to Weather.com, the forecast is for a “few showers in morning with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon,” with a 60 per cent chance of rain. Between 12 pm and 4 pm local time, chances of rain in Brisbane range from 19 per cent to 24 per cent, with temperatures hovering between 24 and 26 degree Celsius.
IND vs AUS 3rd Test playing XI
Australia playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.