BGT 3rd Test ends in draw, weather plays its part in keeping India-Australia series level at 1-1

BRISBANE: The third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia has ended in a draw after weather continued to make it difficult to push for a result on Wednesday in Brisbane. The series remained level at 1-1 despite Australia captain Pat Cummins making a huge bid to push for a result after deciding to declare on 89/7 and invite India to chase down a 275-run target.

“The play has been abandoned in Brisbane and the match is drawn. After the Third Test, the series is evenly poised at 1-1”, BCCI wrote on X.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul looked in good touch, effectively negating the pace blitz of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. The opening pair found a couple of perfectly timed shots to keep the scoreboard driving. Before they took the crease to chase down the target, Australia tried to fire quickly, with Usman Khawaja picking up a couple of fours to lay down their intent. The intent to play aggressively came with a risk that Australian batters were willing to pay off.

In a space of the first 18 overs, Australia lost seven wickets and managed to put 89 runs on the board. In the first 10 overs, runs were scarce as skipper Rohit Sharma shuffled his bowlers well. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled in tandem before the latter was taken out, and Akash Deep was thrown into the mix. The move worked magic, with Bumrah and Akash making inroads and restricting Australia to 28/4.

Alex Carey (20*), Travis Head (17) and Cummins (22) kept their swift approach alive and tried to deal with boundaries. Wickets kept falling, but runs rose simultaneously on the board as well. With their surge, Australia managed to put 89/7 on the boards, which Cummins and the management thought should be enough to push for a result.

Earlier in the day, India folded on 260 following Akash Deep’s dismissal, and Australia were supposed to begin their innings, but the rain had other plans. Bumrah and Akash were the masterminds behind India saving the Test and keeping the scoreline alive at 1-1. The forecast suggested that rain was always on the cards even before the Test began.

Australia hammered 445 on the board, courtesy of Travis Head’s 152 and Steven Smith’s 101. In reply, Starc and Cummins rattled India’s top order, with Josh Hazlewood claiming the all-important wicket of Virat Kohli before sustaining an injury.

K L Rahul offered a sense of hope with his well-composed 84 backed by Ravindra Jadeja’s 77. The duo’s effort still wasn’t enough to take India past the mark where they could avoid a follow-on. From that moment, Akash and Bumrah achieved the unthinkable and took India past the mark to save the Test for the visiting party.

The expressions on the faces of head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli summed up the sense of jubilation that was going through the hearts of Indian fans.

Returning to Day 5, the waiting game began when bad weather didn’t allow the game to resume. But the conditions worsened after rain arrived at The Gabba, limiting the session to just 24 balls. Before the intervention of the weather gods, Akash and Jasprit Bumrah continued to churn out runs for India, adding to Australia’s misery.

The Australian bowling unit had to be patient in their attempts to find a breakthrough. While Nathan Lyon tried to create pressure from one end, Travis Head tried to exploit the tail end from the other. Head, who starred for Australia with his 152-run blitzkrieg, eventually got the breakthrough. He invited Akash forward, got past him with a slider, and Alex Carey removed the bails at lightning pace. The replay showed Akash had nothing behind the crease with his foot on the line at the moment Carey dislodged the bails.

The superb cameo from Akash came to an end as he walked back with figures of 31(44). Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the bowling unit appeared on the field to warm up after the rain stopped.

Brief Score: Australia 455 & 89/7 d (Pat Cummins 22, Alex Carey 20*; Jasprit Bumrah 3-18) vs India 260 & 8/0 (KL Rahul 4*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 4*). (ANI)