The rain-affected Gabba Test finally came to an end as Australia and India decided to shake hands to settle on a draw. As India started the chase of 275 runs, the bad light interrupted the play, and umpires called for the tea break.
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The match, though, didn’t resume as the ground received heavy rains, prompting both teams to shake hands an hour later. Despite the rain playing spoilsport, fans witnessed some solid batting performances from the hosts and some gutsy knocks from Indian batters.
Now both teams will head into the Boxing Day Test scheduled at the MCG with the series drawn at 1-1. It will be interesting to see who takes the lead in Melbourne before the series moves into the final Test in Sydney.
But before that, let’s see how the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 unfolded at Brisbane’s Gabba.
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Australia vs India Third Test, BGT 2024/25 | Match Summary
Australia and India came to Brisbane with the series at 1-1 level. India were riding high after their Perth victory but crashed hard in the pink-ball encounter in Adelaide.
The last time India played at the Gabba, they broke Australia’s undefeated streak at this venue and clinched the BGT 2020/21 by 2-1. This time everyone expected the Men in Blue to replicate the same.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to have the bowl first on a deck that had a little grass. India made two changes, bringing in Akash Deep and Ravindra Jadeja in place of Harshit Rana and R Ashwin.
Australia also made a change by bringing in Josh Hazlewood, who missed the Adelaide Test, in place of Scott Boland.
The hosts started their innings and were on 19 for no loss in 5.3 overs when the rain interrupted the play for the first time. The match resumed after half an hour only for the rain to make a splash after seven overs and continued for the remainder of the day, prompting umpires to call it a day.
India then started the second day with two strikes, with Bumrah removing Australia’s openers to reduce them to 38 for two. The duo of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith showed some resistance before Labuschagne fell in the 34th over.
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Smith and Head Hammer India
Then India’s nemesis Travis Head joined Smith in the middle. Both batters held their ground and didn’t let any wickets fall.
Meanwhile, Head smashed his consecutive hundred in the series, reaching the milestone before tea on day two. Once the play resumed, Smith and Head upped the ante by finding the boundaries with ease.
Smith also ended in his poor slump as he raised his 33rd Test hundred in the 82nd over, though he fell for 101 in the next over. Mitchell Marsh came to bat but had a short stay, edging the ball to the slip in the 87th over.
Head too walked back three balls later on 152 as Bumrah completed his fifer. Alex Carey and Pat Cummins were the new pair who steered the ship after finding themselves at 327 for six.
But Mohammed Siraj broke their resistance three overs before the stumps on day two. Australia ended the day on 405 for 7 with Carey and Mitchell Starc on the crease.
As day three started, India restricted Australia’s batting effort to 445, with Carey being the last victim. The keeper-batter’s 70-run knock proved to be crucial in Australia crossing the 400-run barrier.
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India Under Pressure on a Stop-Start Day
India came out to bat, and Yashasvi Jaiswal started the innings with a four. But the next ball he handed out an easy catch, giving Mitchell Starc and Australia their first wicket.
Shubman Gill walked in at No. 3, but his stay also lasted three balls as Starc got him caught out at the start of the third over. The big man Virat Kohli came onto the crease but walked back soon, edging another outside the off delivery to the keeper.
As No. 5 Rishabh Pant was walking into the middle, rain decided to play hide and seek. The rain would come and go after every three to four overs, interrupting the whole day’s play several times.
In between, Pant was back into the hut, leaving India 51 for four as captain Rohit Sharma joined towards the end of the day.
India Show Some Fight with the Bat
India resumed the fourth day, with KL Rahul and Rohit showing some fight. But Sharma’s dismissal in the 24th over left India in a lurch at 74 for five.
Then India’s dependable all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja walked in and joined forces with Rahul. Both stitched a crucial stand of 67 runs to take India close to 150. But Rahul lost his wicket after a well-made 84-run knock.
Then Jadeja got the company of Nitish Kumar Reddy and built a 53-run stand, taking India close to 200. India then lost three wickets in the space of 20 runs, leaving them on the verge of a follow-on.
Then the pace bowling duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep decided to display their batting skills. They showed patience on the crease while smashing the poor deliveries for boundaries.
Before the bad light forced the day to end, Bumrah and Akash Deep managed to avert the follow-on, getting India to 252 for nine.
Australia Take Lead, India’s Pacers Bounce Back
On the last day, the resistance from the last batting pair came to an end as Head got Akash Deep stumped out. Australia wrapped up India’s first innings to 260 and took a lead of 185 runs.
There was a delay to Australia’s second dig due to the lightning near the venue. The play only resumed after the lunch break.
With two sessions to go into the game, Usman Khawaja set the ball rolling with a couple of boundaries. But Bumrah sent him back by cleaning up the wickets, drawing India’s first blood.
Four overs later, Bumrah struck again, getting Labuschange to edge the ball to Pant. Akash Deep then swung into action, dismissing Nathan McSweeney caught behind. He then removed Marsh in a similar fashion before Siraj got Smith out, leaving Australia five down on 33.
In the 15th over, Siraj removed Head with Pant taking the top edge with ease. Then captain Pat Cummins swung his bat, getting a couple of fours and sixes before handing out a catch on 85 in the 18th over.
After adding four runs to the total, Australia declared their innings on 89 for seven. The hosts set a target of 275 runs ahead of India with another session to go.
But as India returned to bat in the second innings, rain made its comeback, putting a full stop to the match. India were on eight for no loss as the game ended in a draw.
Australia vs India, Third Test, Brisbane, 2024 | Match Scorecard
Australia Batting 1st Innings
| Batters | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usman Khawaja | c †Pant b Bumrah | 21 | 54 | 3 | 0 | 38.88 |
| Nathan McSweeney | c Kohli b Bumrah | 9 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 18.36 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | c Kohli b Nitish Kumar Reddy | 12 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 21.81 |
| Steven Smith | c Sharma b Bumrah | 101 | 190 | 12 | 0 | 53.15 |
| Travis Head | c †Pant b Bumrah | 152 | 160 | 18 | 0 | 95.00 |
| Mitchell Marsh | c Kohli b Bumrah | 5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 31.25 |
| Alex Carey † | c Shubman Gill b Akash Deep | 70 | 88 | 7 | 2 | 79.54 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | c †Pant b Mohammed Siraj | 20 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 60.60 |
| Mitchell Starc | c †Pant b Bumrah | 18 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 60.00 |
| Nathan Lyon | b Mohammed Siraj | 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 6.66 |
| Josh Hazlewood | not out | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | (lb 17, nb 5, w 13) | 35 | ||||
| Total | 117.1 Ov (RR: 3.79) | 445 | ||||
India Bowling 1st Innings
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs Given | Wickets | Econ | Wide | No Balls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 28 | 9 | 76 | 6 | 2.71 | 0 | 2 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 23.2 | 5 | 97 | 2 | 4.15 | 2 | 0 |
| Akash Deep | 29.5 | 5 | 95 | 1 | 3.18 | 1 | 2 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 13 | 1 | 65 | 1 | 5.00 | 1 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 23 | 2 | 95 | 0 | 4.13 | 0 | 1 |
India Batting 1st Innings
| Batting | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | c Marsh b Starc | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| KL Rahul | c Smith b Lyon | 84 | 139 | 8 | 0 | 60.43 |
| Shubman Gill | c Marsh b Starc | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Virat Kohli | c †Carey b Hazlewood | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 18.75 |
| Rishabh Pant † | c †Carey b Cummins | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Rohit Sharma (c) | c †Carey b Cummins | 10 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 37.03 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | c Marsh b Cummins | 77 | 123 | 7 | 1 | 62.60 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | b Cummins | 16 | 61 | 1 | 0 | 26.22 |
| Mohammed Siraj | c †Carey b Starc | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.09 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | not out | 10 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 26.31 |
| Akash Deep | st †Carey b Head | 31 | 44 | 2 | 1 | 70.45 |
| Extras | (b 8, lb 2, nb 3, w 1) | 14 | ||||
| Total | 78.5 Ov (RR: 3.29) | 260 | ||||
Australia Bowling 1st Innings
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs Given | Wickets | Econ | Wide | No Balls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 24 | 3 | 83 | 3 | 3.45 | 1 | 1 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 6 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 3.66 | 0 | 1 |
| Pat Cummins | 22 | 2 | 81 | 4 | 3.68 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Lyon | 23 | 1 | 55 | 1 | 2.39 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Head | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1.63 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitchell Marsh | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 | 0 | 1 |
Australia Batting 2nd Innings
| Batting | Dismissals | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan McSweeney | c †Pant b Akash Deep | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 16.00 |
| Usman Khawaja | b Bumrah | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 114.28 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | c †Pant b Bumrah | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| Mitchell Marsh | c †Pant b Akash Deep | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 15.38 |
| Travis Head | c †Pant b Mohammed Siraj | 17 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 89.47 |
| Steven Smith | c †Pant b Mohammed Siraj | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Alex Carey † | not out | 20 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | c Rahul b Bumrah | 22 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 220.00 |
| Mitchell Starc | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | (b 1, lb 6, nb 2) | 9 | ||||
| Total | 18 Ov (RR: 4.94) | 89/7d | ||||
India Bowling 2nd Innings
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs Given | Wickets | Econ | Wide | No Balls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasprit Bumrah | 6 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 | 2 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 7 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 5.14 | 0 | 0 |
| Akash Deep | 5 | 1 | 28 | 2 | 5.60 | 0 | 0 |
India Batting 2nd Innings (Target: 275 runs)
| Batting | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | not out | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |
| KL Rahul | not out | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Extras | 0 | |||||
| Total | 2.1 Ov (RR: 3.69) | 8/0 | ||||
Australia Bowling 2nd Innings
| Bowling | Overs | Maidens | Runs Given | Wickets | Econ | Wide | No Balls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 1.1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.42 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | 0 | 0 |
Match Result: Drawn
