On Day 5 of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia on Wednesday, rain continued to affect Brisbane, limiting the first session to just 24 balls. After Akash Deep was dismissed, India collapsed at 260, and Australia was set to start their innings, but the weather had other ideas.
The opening pair of Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja was eagerly anticipated by fans, but the time never came. When inclement weather prevented the game from continuing, the waiting game started. However, once rain reached The Gabba, the situation deteriorated and the session was cut short to just 24 balls.
Australia’s suffering was exacerbated by Akash and Jasprit Bumrah’s continuous runs for India prior to the weather gods’ intervention. In their quest for a breakthrough, the Australian bowling team had to exercise patience. Travis Head attempted to take advantage of the tail end from one end as Nathan Lyon attempted to generate pressure from the other.
Head, who made headlines for Australia with his blitzkrieg of 152 runs, finally made the breakthrough. After inviting Akash to come forward and using a slider to go around him, Alex Carey swiftly took off the bails. When Carey removed the bails, the replay revealed that Akash had nothing behind the crease with his foot on the line.
Akash’s incredible cameo came to an end when he returned with figures of 31–44. When the rain stopped, Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the bowling team showed up on the pitch to warm up. As India was about to face a follow-on on Day 4, the 47-run partnership most likely determined the match. In order to prevent such a scenario for India, the pair batted cautiously.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and team mainstays Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had some memorable reactions in the dressing room after Akash smacked the ball away for four. (ANI)