Persistent rain over all five days forced umpires to finally pull the plug on the third Test between Australia and India, calling play about two hours before the scheduled end of the match yesterday as it ended in a soggy draw.
Australia declared their second innings at 89 for seven and set India 275 runs to win in 54 overs and about a session and a half before stumps yesterday. But play only ensued for less than three overs before bad light stopped play and an early tea was taken with India at none for eight and needing a further 267 runs to win.
But the rain came again and that was the end of play in the match.
Earlier, Travis Head, named Man-of-the-Match for his 152 runs in the first innings, dismissed India tailender Akash Deep to end India’s first innings at 260 and secure an 185-run lead for Australia.
After the Test, veteran spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from cricket.
With the five-Test series level at 1-1 and Brisbane touted as being a pivotal game in the series, it turned out to be anything but. Rain delay after rain delay spoiled the Gabba match and forced Cricket Australia to refund tickets to about 35,000 spectators who attended the first day because not enough overs were bowled.
“Obviously to have interruptions like that wasn’t great, but going to Melbourne at 1-1 is great and gives us confidence that we can go to Melbourne and pull something off there,” India captain Rohit Sharma said.
Jasprit Bumrah went past India legend Kapil Dev for the most Test wickets in Australia by an Indian player when he had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind for 1 yesterday. Bumrah is now on top of the list with 53 wickets, two ahead of Kapil on 51.
After helping save India from the follow-on with a valuable ten not out in a crucial last-wicket stand of 47 with Deep, the 31-year-old Bumrah returned to doing what he does best at the bowling crease—he took nine wickets in Brisbane and now has 21 for the series at an average of 10.9.
Australia will likely be a bowler down for the remainder of the series after Josh Hazlewood suffered calf soreness ahead of the fourth day’s play and was only able to send down one over before leaving the field.
Hazlewood, who missed the second Test in Adelaide due to side soreness, was late entering the field at the start of play and then looked laboured when he came into the attack. “Josh passed all assessments before he was selected for the third Test and was fully fit entering the match,” Cricket Australia’s high-performance director Ben Oliver said. “Unfortunately Josh suffered a new, unrelated calf injury during the warm-up on day four.”
Scott Boland, who replaced Hazlewood in Adelaide and took five wickets, will likely be back for Australia for the Melbourne Cricket Ground Test starting December 26. India won the first Test by 295 runs at Perth, while Australia came back to win the second day-night game in Adelaide by ten wickets.