AUS vs IND: Day 1 of 3rd Test called off in Brisbane due to incessant rains

On Saturday, December 14, Team India faced the hosts, Australia, in the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) at The Gabba in Brisbane. In an attempt to take advantage of the bowling-friendly circumstances, Indian captain Rohit Sharma chose to bowl first despite the cloudy skies. Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney, Australia’s opening duo, were undefeated at 19* and 4* runs, respectively, nearly 14 overs into the match, and they were 28/0.

The rain gods chose to cover the Brisbane as Akash Deep prepared to bowl his third delivery of the fourth over.

Without showing any signs of slowing down, it began to pour. To withstand the intense rain, the covers were left on the ground. The waiting game was played and the lunch was eaten on schedule, but the rain did not seem to let up.

After only 13.2 overs of play, the play was called off at approximately 11:45 IST (16:15 AEST), and it was Stumps on Day 1. A full day of cricket is anticipated from both sides of the globe on Day 2, which will start at 9:50 am AEST and feature 98 overs of bowling.

First, we’re going to go bowling. There is a little amount of grass and some cloud cover, and it appears rather soft. We want to take advantage of the situation as much as possible. Both teams have performed well in the previous two games, so there is still a lot of cricket to be played. This is a big game for us, and we will fulfil our obligations. At the toss, Rohit Sharma stated, “We’ll play good cricket; we understand that we have to capture some moments; we didn’t do that in the previous game, which is why we lost.”

In the first session, Khawaja played against India with good intentions.

Usman Khawaja, the opener for Australia, performed with confidence and looked strong on the first day of the Brisbane Test. Notably, he twice drew bowler Mohammed Siraj to rocket the ball over the boundary during his undefeated tenure at the crease. In contrast to the first two games of the BGT 2024-25 series, the batsman tried to put pressure on the Indian bowlers by changing his gears, in contrast to his defensive performance in Adelaide and Perth.

In addition, Khawaja collected another boundary by lightly touching the bowl down to the fine leg area. In Brisbane, Jasprit Bumrah, who has been outstanding with the ball throughout the current series, deviated from his typical line and lengths. Additionally, he was discovered to be bowling too straight, which gave the Australian batsmen little trouble. However, despite a tight session bowled by the Indians in the third Test, Khawaja’s partner Nathan McSweeney also demonstrated his intention to wait in the crease.