Due to rain, the third Test match between Australia and India at the Gabba in Brisbane concluded in a draw, tying the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 series at one. Although the Test match was largely dominated by rain, both teams nevertheless produced outstanding performances in spite of the weather disruptions.
On the last day, the weather finally stopped play just 2.1 overs into India’s second innings, and officials decided to terminate the match in a draw. The game was mostly dominated by the hosts. Travis Head scored an incredible 152 and Steven Smith scored 101 as they batted first and established a solid first-inning score of 445. The top bowler for tourists was Jasprit Bumrah, who took six wickets for 76 runs in the first innings.
With the top order faltering against Australia’s pace attack spearheaded by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, India’s comeback got off to a bad start. Ravindra Jadeja (77) and KL Rahul (84), however, fought back, saving the visitors from a precarious situation. India avoided the follow-on by using a valiant 47-run last-wicket partnership between Bumrah and Akash Deep, finishing their innings at 260.
With a 185-run lead in the first innings on the last day, Australia was in a little precarious position. They only needed 18 overs to declare their second innings at 89/7. India was given 54 overs to chase 275 with this strategy. But due to poor lighting and rain, play was halted after just 2.1 overs had been played. Ravichandran Ashwin, a senior Indian spinner, announced his retirement from international competition following the game’s draw and is scheduled to return home on Thursday.
India and Australia saw a decline in PCT
Following the rain-plagued third Test match between Australia and India ending in a tie, the World Test Championship 2023–25 points table saw no change in the rankings. Despite the fact that the rankings stay the same, both teams’ points percentages (PCT) decrease; Australia, in second place, has a PCT of 58.89%, while India, in third place, has a PCT of 55.68%.
India must win all of the remaining Test matches against Australia in order to advance, and their PCT will increase to 60.52. In that instance, even if the Australians defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 in the series, which is set for January and February of next year, they will still miss that goal.
The only way for India to finish ahead of Australia with a victory and a draw is if Sri Lanka draws at least one of their two home Test matches against the defending champions. Sri Lanka will have to defeat the Pat Cummins-led team by a 2-0 margin if Rohit Sharma’s team loses one of the final two games in this series.
Position | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | PCT (%) |
1 | SOUTH AFRICA | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 76 | 63.33 |
2 | AUSTRALIA | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 106 | 58.89 |
3 | INDIA | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 114 | 55.88 |
4 | NEW ZEALAND | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 81 | 48.21 |
5 | SRI LANKA | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
6 | ENGLAND | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 114 | 43.18 |
7 | PAKISTAN | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
8 | BANGLADESH | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
9 | WEST INDIES | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24 |
*Last updated December 18, 2024, after Australia and India’s third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw.