‘Well, at least we can breathe a sigh of relief for now’—these words might have been on the minds of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul as they walked off the field after the ninth rain interruption of the day.
On a day when the Australian pacers were relentlessly hammering India’s batsmen at the Gabba, the rain became something of a blessing for Rohit and Rahul, giving them a brief moment of respite.
Australia had already crossed the 400 mark yesterday, thanks to centuries from Travis Head and Steven Smith. On the rain-affected third day, Alex Carey’s fifty helped add another 40 runs, taking the hosts’ first innings total to 445.
In response, India’s batsmen were quickly under pressure, losing 4 wickets in a hurry to the pace and bounce of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins. After 17 overs, India ended the day on 51/4, still 394 runs behind and staring down the barrel of a potential follow-on.
The day began with rain in Brisbane, which caused multiple interruptions throughout the day. In total, there were nine rain breaks, and only 33.1 overs were bowled.
Starc continued his superb form from the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill early, both of whom fell to Mitchell Marsh’s catches. Virat Kohli followed soon after, caught behind off Hazlewood.
Rishabh Pant, who had been a hero in the 2021 Brisbane Test, failed miserably in the same venue, caught by Carey off Pat Cummins.
Despite Shubman Gill’s earlier claims that he wasn’t intimidated by Australian bowlers, the entire Indian top order—Jaiswal, Kohli, Pant, and Gill—were rattled by the pace trio of Starc, Hazlewood, and Cummins. None of them reached double figures.
Gill had the misfortune of driving a full-length delivery outside the off-stump from Starc, only for Mitchell Marsh to dive and take a stunning catch, which the commentators aptly called a ‘flying bison’—a nod to Marsh’s nickname.
Among the chaos, KL Rahul (33*) remained resilient, holding up one end as he survived the rain delays. With Rohit Sharma (0*) by his side, the two managed to survive until the next rain break.
As the evening drew on, the rain paused briefly, but with the wet outfield and fading light, the umpires, Richard Illingworth and Richard Kettleborough, decided to end the day’s play early.
Brief Score:
Australia 1st Innings: 445 all out in 117.1 overs
(Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 70; Bumrah 6/76, Siraj 2/97)
India 1st Innings: 51/4 in 17 overs
(Rahul 33*, Pant 9, Jaiswal 4, Kohli 3, Gill 1, Rohit 0*; Starc 2/25, Cummins 1/7, Hazlewood 1/17)
At the end of Day 3, India trail by 394 runs.
