Brisbane: Cricket fans in Brisbane received full refunds after a wet opening day of the third Test between Australia and India that even meteorologists got horribly wrong.
Just 80 legal deliveries were sent down at the Gabba on Saturday after India won their third straight toss of the series and sent Australia in to bat with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a knife’s edge at 1-1.
Usman Khawaja (19 from 47 balls) and Nathan McSweeney (four from 33) had their innings interrupted by a brief delay 5.3 overs into the match before a heavier downpour had supporters finding shelter and ground staff throwing covers on a pitch that looked less green than it did three days prior.
The entire outfield at the Gabba was under water at one point as television and radio broadcasters did their best to keep things ticking over when no further play looked inevitable.
Play will resume on Sunday – and all remaining days of the Test – at 9.50am local time (10.50am AEDT), with a minimum 98 overs to be bowled each day.
The wet weather was a surprise to many who arrived at the ground, given the weather bureau predicted a maximum of 15 millimetres of rain in Brisbane. When stumps were called at 4.13pm local time, the city had been drenched by more than 70mm of rain.
General view inside the stadium as rain covers are seen over the wicket. Credit: Getty Images
Cricket Australia said 30,145 supporters would receive full refunds, given there was less than 15 overs of play completed. The governing body has insurance in place to cover their losses when wet weather occurs.
Khawaja and McSweeney would have been thrilled if someone had told them they’d get to stumps not out on Saturday. Ideally, however, they would have liked a few more runs and overs under their belts.
Rohit Sharma’s decision to send Australia into bat was bold, but there were not enough overs to make a fair judgment on whether it was the right or wrong decision.
Any visiting captain who sends Australia in to bat evokes memories of England skipper Nasser Hussain in 2002 when Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting carved out hundreds to propel the home side to 2-364 at stumps.
On Saturday, Australia’s opening pair got through two spells of bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, albeit either side of the first rain delay. India’s best bowler didn’t take a wicket in his six overs, conceded eight runs, and beat Khawaja’s outside edge a number of times.
Australia’s Usman Khawaja runs back to the pavilion as it starts to rain at the Gabba. Credit: AP
Khawaja’s couple of pull shots to the boundary off Mohammed Siraj (0-13 off four overs) were arguably the highlights of a dull day.
There were two intriguing changes to India’s XI, with Ravindra Jadeja getting the nod over Ravichandran Ashwin, in a clear sign that the tourists want to lengthen their batting order after their loss in Adelaide.
Meanwhile, pace bowler Harshit Rana was not selected, with Akash Deep (0-2 off 3.2 overs) selected for his first match of the series. Rohit is still listed to bat at No.6 after speculation he might have been moved back up the order to open.
As expected, Josh Hazlewood was included in Australia’s XI in place of Scott Boland.
Nathan McSweeney takes a quick single. Credit: Getty Images
“We try and make it [the selection] as late as possible without disturbing Scotty’s prep too much,” Hazlewood said on SEN before play. “We just saw how I woke up yesterday … and everything was sweet.
“Everything’s feeling pretty good. It’s been a frustrating last few weeks … but good to be back bowling.”
Despite the truncated day, Khawaja made more runs than in any of his previous six visits to the crease. The last time he raised the bat for a half-century was against the West Indies in Brisbane in January.
Khawaja faced most of Bumrah’s six overs, while McSweeney managed one run from three balls against India’s strike weapon to bump his head-to-head average up from 3.7 to four.
As debate swirls over the future of the Gabba as a stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympics, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli expressed his disappointment that Brisbane is being viewed as the fifth-best Test venue in the country.
“I’m frustrated this isn’t the first Test, let alone people talking about us not having a Test. That defies logic,” Crisafulli said on the ABC’s Grandstand. “We’re going to do something that makes Queenslanders proud.
“I’m mindful we are sitting in a venue that is reaching the end of its life and I don’t want to be in a state where we can’t have a claim to have a Test in every series.”
