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LUNCH: Australia 104-3 (Smith 25*, Head 20*)
What a terrific session that was – rain-free and action-packed!
Under blue Brisbane skies, India won the early battle thanks again to their fast-bowling maestro Jasprit Bumrah (2-26 from 14 overs). He dismissed both Australia’s opening pair of Usman Khawaja (21 from 54) and Nathan McSweeney (nine from 49) in a brilliant spell of controlled yet aggressive bowling in the morning session.
Australia rallied for a time with a 37-run partnership between the twitch twins of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Then, in the 33rd over, Nitish Kumar Reddy wrestled back the momentum for the visitors, drawing Marnus forward and catching the edge for Virat Kohly to pouch his second catch of the day. It put Australia on the brink at 75-3.
Smith lived dangerously with his hot-stepping from leg stump to off and was lucky to survive several close appeals. But he endured, and has battled his way to lunch unbeaten on 25 with just a solitary boundary from his 68 balls faced. Travis Head has typically added rocket fuel to the innings, charging to 20 from 35 balls with two boundaries. His battle against Bumrah in this next session may yet define the Test – and the series.
Time to wet the whistle and bolster the belly. Back soon!
43rd over: Australia 104-3 (Smith 25, Head 20) Travis Head doesn’t believe in blocking his way to a break. First ball from Akash he attacks and drives for two runs to deep cover. Then a single to take his total to 20 from 32 and this partnership to 26 at a strike-rate of 50. Smith taps another one onto his tally. Head again has a heave at Akash but misses. His drives at the fifth but Bumrah cuts it off with a dive. In good news for India, Mohammed Siraj is back on the field seemingly recovered from his hamstring twinge.
That will be lunch.
42nd over: Australia 100-3 (Smith 24, Head 17) After Smith pushes Bumrah through square leg for a single, Australia’s hundred comes up from a Head push backward of square. One more over before we break for a feed I reckon.
41st over: Australia 98-3 (Smith 23, Head 16) Travis Head isn’t playing for lunch – he’s ever-hungry for runs. Two balls in succession he’s tried to slash Akash over gully and failed. Now he flashes again and Pant has to really jump to haul it down. A very eventful maiden!
40th over: Australia 98-3 (Smith 23, Head 16) Smith v Bumrah isn’t quite Godzilla v Kong although “Smudge” isn’t a bad moniker for a metropolis-marauding behemoth. Not in this over though. After Head’s sharp single from Bumrah’s front-foot no-ball, Smith plays out three dots.
39th over: Australia 95-3 (Smith 23, Head 15) Just a single for Head as he cuts backward of square. Nitish keeps it tight for the remainder of the over as Smith looks to lunch.
38th over: Australia 94-3 (Smith 23, Head 14) Finally, we have the monster match this crowd has been waiting for: Head v Bumrah. Head takes a single from the first, Smith does likewise. And now… WHACK! Head gets onto the front foot and drives with pinpoint accuracy between mid off and cover for FOUR. Lovely shot. He tries to replicate it on the next but doesn’t middle it. Instead it’s a sand iron chipped over the infield for three. Suddenly, Travis Head has 14 from 16 balls and is officially away!
37th over: Australia 85-3 (Smith 22, Head 6) As Siraj continues and Bumrah remains ominously on ice, Australia take two backward of point.
Tully Haines has been in touch by email after a fielding mishap resulted in what Tully believes is a fatal twist of fate for Marnus:
Hi Angus, I was very worried Labuschagne would get out that ball, Smith’s shot for three clearly touched Bumrah’s trousers while his arm was on the ground over the rope. Should have been a four and Smith should have stayed on strike.
Meanwhile, Ross McGillivray joins the chorus of critics who loathe Labuschagne’s slow-motion walk off after being dismissed…
Marnus strolls off as slow as can be practising the shot he thinks he played that hit him out. He’s a bit of a worry.
Agree, Ross. Not a good look by Marnus. But it’s been going on for some time now hasn’t it? Would you consider it dissent? And whose job is it to call him on it?
India have another worry. Mohammed Siraj has gone off with an injury.
36th over: Australia 83-3 (Smith 20, Head 6) Head… SHOT! Nitish gave him width and Travis whacked him to the boundary with a square cut that disappeared in a flash. Head tries it again but this time it’s stopped by the infielder. He gets a single from the next instead but this Test has started to accelerate now Australia’s wrecking ball No 5 is at the crease. There’s a mild appeal as Head’s pull shot misses by a millimetre. Nothing doing.
35th over: Australia 77-3 (Smith 19, Head 1) Mohammed Siraj is back for a tenth over but surely Jasprit Bumrah will return next over to take on Head before he gets going. But not yet. First we have a huge shout for LBW against Smith – no appeal mind you, as Siraj continues his annoying habit of charging to his slip cordon rather than asking the question of the umpire. Umpire says NO but it’s a no-shot by Smith and an ugly one. He stepped across and got hit hard and high on the right pad. Siraj was certain he had the wicket but the umpire shook his head. Sharma referred it… but no dice. Although it’s clipping the off bail, we will stay with the infield decision. Now we have more controversy as Siraj loses the towel tucked into his waistband in his delivery stride. Smith plays a shot while pointing out the anomaly and somehow manages a run. Head finds a single off the last to finish a weird over.
34th over: Australia 75-3 (Smith 15, Head 0) After that wicket, Travis Head walks to the wicket on a run of three golden ducks in a row at the Gabba! He survives the first ball from Nitish, thankfully one of those legside deliveries that undid him in the past. Head’s hands are flashing as always, hungry for bat on ball. But he can’t get off the mark just yet. Good over by Nitish.
WICKET! Labuschagne c Kohli b Nitish 12 (Australia 75-3)
Farewell, Marnus Labuschagne! Nitish has really bent his back and bowled beautifully this morning and now he has his reward. That was a faster ball angled across the batter and Labuschagne went to drive with hard hands and misjudged the pace to send a thick edge straight into the sticky fingers of Virat Kohli at second slip. Australia three down and India on top!
33rd over: Australia 72-2 (Labuschagne 12, Smith 15) A middlin’ shout by Siraj against Smith is dismissed by both umpire and India captain Rohit Sharma. They run a legbye instead. A strange moment now as Siraj walks down the pitch and switches the bails, a piece of gamesmanship straight out of the Stuart Broad Playbook! Labuschagne’s riposte is to wait until the bowler turns his back before switching the bails back. Now Siraj, steam issuing from the ears, puts one around Marnus’s ears and follows it with some fruity lip service. Marnus gets one off the hip through midwicket and runs two.
Cricket is a game full of strange superstitions…
32nd over: Australia 70-2 (Labuschagne 10, Smith 15) Nitish returns for a fourth over. Labuschangne is bogged down with just eight runs from 43 balls. Finally, runs! He moves his total on with a well-timed flick off the pads for two. Siraj fields on the boundary and the pantomime villain gets a chorus of jeers from the Gabba crowd. Labuschagne drives the next one, an over-pitched ball on middle, but Bumrah moves quickly to his left to stop what looked a certain boundary. Good fielding India.
31st over: Australia 67-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 15) Another lovely shot by Smith from Siraj’s first ball. He adds two more with a controlled swipe through midwicket for two. The big beligerent quick retaliates by banging the next one in faster on leg stump and it’s very nearly LBW. Luckily, Smith gets a bit of blade on it. Good bowling! Smith was beaten by the pace there. and Siraj is starting to get the ball to skid on
30th over: Australia 67-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 15) Bang! Smith drives Nitish handsomely for three runs. He has 15 and is starting to look good.
29th over: Australia 62-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 10) A curious over as Siraj and Labuschagne throw a flurry of blows at each other for no runs or reward on either side. Some handsome shots by the batter but can’t pierce the field. Some scorching deliveries by the bowler but no edge. Ultimately, it’s a very entertaining maiden. Siraj comments on this curious turn of events with a flash of his forked tongue at the end of the over. Labuschagne blows a bubble and smirks. Don’t poke the bear Marnus!
28th over: Australia 62-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 10) Australia are slowly rebuilding after the loss of their opening pair. This partnership is now worth 24 from 56 deliveries. Jasprit Bumrah is out of the attack and they have the second and third-change bowlers Siraj and Nitish coming at them. Can they cash in? Not in this over. Nitish, firing them down at 127kph, bowls a maiden.
27th over: Australia 62-2 (Labuschagne 8, Smith 10) Labuschagne finds a single from the first ball of Siraj’s sixth over. The big quick makes Smith play at the next two. Fourth ball is short – VERY short. It flies over the batter and wicketkeeper Pant and runs away for five wides. Smith salts the wound with a glanced single from the fifth.
26th over: Australia 55-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 9) Double change by India as Nitish Kumar Reddy enters the attack for his first over of the Test. He delivers a mixed bag in his first foray, probing outside off stump and that leg stump line Smith seemns vulbnerable to. Five dots until Smith works one out of his ribcage for a fast-run deuce.
25th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 7) Jasprit Bumrah is grabbing a breather and captain Rohit Sharma has brought his firebrand fastbowler Mohammed Siraj into the attack. Right from the jump he gets Labuschagne hopping. Now he catches Marnus i9n front and not offering a shot. Huge shout! Umpires says NO. The India skipper says YeahbutNoReview. And it’s a good call – straight but flying over middle stump. Good bowling by Siraj, risky batting by Labuschagne.
Drinks are on the field here at the Gabba and it’s 53-2. Over in Hamilton it’s 54-2. New Zealand may have lost the series against England but they are going down with a fight in this third and final Test. A flurry by the tailenders got them to a first innings total of 347 and they now have both openers out and England in trouble.
24th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 7) Akash needs a spell. He’s releasing the pressure Bumrah builds with over after over of wider balls that are too easy for the batters to leave. Finally after four air balls, Smith drops and runs… and gets two leg byes. Awkward to watch as Smith thrust leg and bat at it, but it’s two more on the total.
23rd over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 7) Another edge! This time it’s Labuschagne caught on the crease by Bumrah, squared up and snicking just short of second slip. Next delivery is a peach, sliding down the channel a whisker from the bat. Even Marnus claps his bat in appreciation of that one. Rightly so. Bumrah is on song. Somehow, after a couple more swishes, Labuschagne survives the over.
22nd over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschagne 7, Smith 7) Beaten! Labuschgnage chased Akash there and it very nearly resulted in his demise. Better bowling by the six-Test tyro from Delhi. But that’s wide and fiull again and Labuschagne punishes it, sending it just short of the midwicket boundary for three. And now more luck for Smith! He flinches and edges, sending it skidding through the slips cordon for a very tinny boundary. Fifty is up for Australia.
21st over: Australia 44-2 (Labuschagne 4, Smith 3) Bumrah to Smith. This will be quite the duel. Smith is caught on the hip by a ball angling in at 138kph. He pushes into the offside for tight run. Good strike rotation by these two so far. Smith started this 112th Test of his career needing 296 runs to reach the coveted 10,000 Test runs mark. He is four runs closer to that dream. As is Labuschagne, who scampers a single from the last.
20th over: Australia 42-2 (Labuschagne 3, Smith 2) Straight away Smith, who is batting way outside leg stump, is taking a big step back and across to negate the swing. His first ball from Akash is a straight-out play and miss as he’s beaten on the inside edge. Akash is aghast. Smith takes a run through midwicket from Akash’s third ball to get off his duck. Labuschagne takes a single and Smith does likewise to close out the over.
19th over: Australia 39-2 (Labuschagne 2, Smith 0) Steve Smith is at the crease and Jasprit Bumrah is on a tear with two wickets already this morning. His first ball is a trap – a legside lure that Smith chases. Risky! That’s what cooked his bacon in the last Test but he still goes for it. A leg bye ensues.
WICKET! McSweeney c Kohli b Bumrah 9 (Australia 38-2)
Bumrah strikes again! McSweeney snicks off to Kohli at second slip and the visitors are suddenly on fire at the Gabba. Nine runs off 49 balls for the rookie opener in his third Test. Poor footwork and Bumrah angled it in and the edge was healthy and lethal. That won’t quiet the calls for NSW young gun Sam Konstas to get a shot as Australia’s opener.
18th over: Australia 38-1 (McSweeney 9, Labuschagne 2) Finally Akash makes McSweeney play… and he edges! But it’s low and wide of slip and scuds to the boundary rope. In one streaky stroke McSweeney just doubled the total it took him 44 balls to compile. Shackles sprung, he runs a single to celebrate. Labuschagne gets off the mark with a dodgy clip to fine leg, inside edging a straight one onto his pad and taking two. Akash had 0-3 from five overs but now has 0-10 from six.
17th over: Australia 31-1 (McSweeney 4, Labuschagne 0) Here comes Marnus. Can he pick up where he left off in the second Test? That strong knock led Australia to victory and saved a career which hung by a thread after two very ugly dismissals in the opening match. He gets behind the first few as Bumrah straight away attacks his pads.
WICKET! Khawaja c Pant b Bumrah 21 (Australia 31-1)
Khawaja goes! Beautiful bowling by Bumrah who banged it in at 137kph on a fourth-stump line and drew a feathered edge. India have first blood on day two and again the visitors have exposed Khawaja who has got himself into a fatal habit of jumping to meet the rising delivery. That one was full and angled and it caught Australia’s veteran opener indecisive with minimal footwork. He played… and lost.
16th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 21, McSweeney 4) It’s Akash’s birthday but Nathan McSweeney is getting all the gifts. Six dots in this over but not one of them made the batter play. India need wickets and McSweeney, already a formidable astonewaller, isn’t going to chance his hand if he doesn’t have to.
15th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 21, McSweeney 4) First runs! And it’s a handsome back foot swish through covers by Khawaja. Two runs. Bumrah was a tad short yesterday and he starts day two in the same vein. No sign of seam movement or swing so far. Bumrah squares up Khawaja on the next – good comeback by the master quick who starts his seventh over with 0-10. Big shout on the third as Khawaja misses a straight one but the edge was audible for mine. Maybe Jasprit was just warming up the tonsils. He finishes with a flourish, beating the batter with two zingers to close. Game on!
14th over: Australia 29-0 (Khawaja 19, McSweeney 4) It’s Akash Deep’s birthday today and he gets a four-ball over first-up to celebrate. His first ball is… wide. So is his second. Two sighters for McSweeney – what a gift for a batter who’s starting the day with four runs from 33 deliveries and a strike-rate of 11. Fifth ball is a no ball. Last one is a leave. So ends an over that took 22 hours to complete.
Here we go, folks…. buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down!
As players prepare to take the field under increasingly blue skies here at the Gabba, it’s nice to hear Melbourne’s own Hunters & Collectors (street name: “Hunners”) providing the soundtrack for this summer’s thali feast of cricket…
Brisbane isn’t the only city complicating Test cricket with the unpredictability of its weather patterns. England and New Zealand are fighting out the final Test of their series in scorching heat and high wind. Here’s how Ali Martin saw day one in Hamilton.
With the series square at one-all and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now down to a – weather permitting – three-Test shootout, both teams are eyeing the bonus prize of a spot in the World Test Championship, most likely against ladder-leaders South Africa.
Yesterday’s rain gave us plenty of time to ponder the permutations if weather intervenes in this contest.As Martin Pegan sees it:
India are the most at risk of paying a price if rain ruins this contest with the two-time WTC runner-up needing to win all three remaining Tests against Australia to guarantee qualification to another final. If Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15, they would almost certainly return to the final after beating India in the 2023 decider. Australia could still qualify for the final if the series against India is drawn 2-2, with two Tests in Sri Lanka to play early next year.
Our own Geoff Lemon had plenty of time on day one to mull over where both teams’ fortunes lie based on the flip of a coin…
Preamble
Angus Fontaine
Good morning cricket fans and welcome to day two of the Guardian’s live coverage of this third Test between Australian and India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Angus Fontaine here for the first chunk of play (touch wood) before Jonathan Howcroft takes you through to stumps.
First things first: it’s ISN’T raining at the Gabba. It’s cloudy and it’s windy. It’s hot and it’s humid. Hell, there are even some skinny streak of blue overhead. But there’s NO RAIN. So all things going well, play will resume an hour early today with action to get under way at 9.50am local time (10.50am AEST).
The forecast for today is the best for the week ahead. Things aren’t looking so bright for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “Showers and thunderstorms are possible during the next few days, however no significant rainfall is expected,” the Bureau has told us.
But let’s live for today and get ready for what umpires have deigned to be a minimum 98-overs of cricket. Rain condemned us to a measly 13.2 overs bowled by India on day one, all in the first session, as 81 millimetres was dumped on Brisbane in what meteorologists are dubbing a “rain bomb”.
That torrent triggered flash-flooding across Queensland and sparked fears the city could be in for floods as catastrophic as the record-breaking deluges of 2022. But it didn’t dampen Australia’s spirits as they sought to cash in on India captain Rohit Sharma’s curious decision to win the toss and bowl on a Gabba ‘green top’.
Despite the persistent showers, opening pair of Usman Khawaja (19 not out) and Nathan McSweeney (4 not out) kept their powder dry, compiling their highest opening partnership of the series and going to an early lunch safe and snug with the scoreboard at 28-0.
From the little we saw, India’s bowlers were a touch short, allowing three-Test rookie McSweeney to hang tough again after his excellent 39 in the second Test, as he left Jasprit Bumrah judiciously and eked singles where he could.
Meanwhile, his normally dour senior partner Khawaja showed impressive intent, leaning back and unfurling a couple of the lovely boundary strokes we’ve come to expect from him. Australia fans will be hoping for more of this on day two.