major events
24th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschen 7, Smith 7) The sky needs magic. He is reducing the pressure created by Bumrah with one wide ball after another which is very easy for the batsmen to leave. Eventually after four air balls, Smith falls and runs… and gets two leg byes. It’s strange to see Smith hit his foot hard and bat at it, but it’s two runs more than the total.
23rd over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschen 7, Smith 7) Another shore! This time, Labuschagne was caught at the crease by Bumrah, who was sniping at square at a short distance from second slip. The next delivery is a peach, sliding down the channel just a whisker off the bat. Even Marnus claps his bat in appreciation. It is alright. Bumrah is on song. Somehow, after a few more blows, Labuschagne survived the over.
22nd over: Australia 51-2 (Labuschen 7, Smith 7) Beaten! Labuschagne followed Sky there and it almost resulted in his death. This Delhi stalwart of six Tests bowled better. But it is wide and full again and Labuschagne punishes him, dispatching him just short of the midwicket boundary for three runs. And now more luck for Smith! He stumbles and takes an edge, causing him to slip through the slip circle and reach a very short boundary. Fifty completed for Australia.
21st over: Australia 44-2 (Labuschen 4, Smith 3) From Bumrah to Smith. It will be quite a duel. Smith was caught on the hip by a ball spinning at a speed of 138 km per hour. He pushes it to the off side for a tight run. Both of them have done good strike rotation so far. Smith needed 296 runs to reach the 10,000 Test run mark in the 112th Test start of his career. He is four runs closer to that dream. As is Labuschagne, who scores one of the last.
20th over: Australia 42-2 (Labuschen 3, Smith 2) Straight away Smith, who is batting outside leg stump, is taking a big step forward to negate the swing. His first ball to Akash is straight-out play and misses as it gets beaten on the inside edge. Akash is surprised. Smith took a run from midwicket on the third ball of Akash and was out on zero. Labuschagne took a single and Smith ended the over in the same manner.
19th over: Australia 39-2 (Labuschen 2, Smith 0) Steve Smith is at the crease and Jasprit Bumrah is at the crease this morning with two wickets. His first ball is a trap – a legside lure which Smith chases. loaded dice! This is what boosted his morale in the last test but he is still ready for it. A leg bye comes.
Wicket! McSweeney c Kohli b Bumrah 9 (Australia 38-2)
Bumrah attacks again! McSweeney snared to Kohli at second slip and the visitors at the Gabba were suddenly in a frenzy. Nine runs off 49 balls for the novice opener in his third Test. Poor footwork and Bumrah angled it and the edge was healthy and lethal. This will not quell calls for NSW youngster Sam Konstas to get a chance as Australia’s opening batsman.
18th over: Australia 38-1 (McSweeney 9, Labuschagne 2) Sky finally forces McSweeney to play… and he gets sidelined! But it is low and wide to slip and scud to the boundary rope. In one stroke McSweeney doubled the total, which took him 44 balls to compile. Shackles jumped up and hit a single to celebrate. Labuschagne missed the mark with a dodgy clip at fine leg, edged a straight edge onto his pads and took two. Akash’s score was 0-3 in five overs but now it is 0-10 in six overs.
17th over: Australia 31-1 (McSweeney 4, Labuschagne 0) Here comes Marnus. Can he start the second Test from where he left off? That powerful innings led Australia to victory and saved a career that was hanging in the balance after two very poor dismissals in the opening match. He is caught behind by the first few as Bumrah attacks his pads straight.
Wicket! Khawaja c Pant b Bumrah (Australia 31-1)
Khwaja goes! Beautiful bowling from Bumrah, who bowled the ball at 137 kilometers per hour over the line of the fourth stump and got a feathery edge. India took the lead for the first time on the second day and once again the visitors exposed Khawaja, who has a deadly habit of jumping to meet the rising ball. It was full and angular and it left Australia’s experienced opener indecisive with minimal footwork. He played…and lost.
16th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 21, McSweeney 4) It’s Sky’s birthday but Nathan McSweeney is getting all the presents. Six dots in this over but not a single one of them forced the batsman to play. India need wickets and McSweeney, already a formidable stone bowler, will leave no stone unturned if that doesn’t happen.
15th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 21, McSweeney 4) First run! And it’s a beautiful back foot swish through cover by Khawaja. Two runs. Yesterday Bumrah was a little younger and he started the second day in the same manner. No sign of seam movement or swing yet. Bumrah dismissed Khawaja in the next over – a good return from Master Quick, who started his seventh over with 0-10. Big shout on the third as Khawaja missed the straight but the lead was clear to me. Maybe Jasprit was just warming his tonsils. He ends with a flourish, concluding by beating the batsman with two zingers. Game on!
14th over: Australia 29-0 (Khawaja 19, McSweeney 4) Today is Akash Deep’s birthday and he got four balls in the first over to celebrate. His first ball… is wide. So he has another one too. Two spectators for McSweeney – what a gift for a batsman starting the day with four runs off 33 balls and a strike-rate of 11. The fifth ball is a no ball. It’s the last holiday. Thus ends an over which took 22 hours to complete.
Here we go, guys… belt ’em up and knock ’em down!
As the players prepare to take the field under blue skies at the Gabba, it’s good to hear Melbourne’s own Hunters & Collectors (street name: “Hunners”) providing the soundtrack to this summer’s cricket platter feast Seems like…
Brisbane is not the only city to complicate Test cricket due to the unpredictability of its weather patterns. England and New Zealand are playing the last Test of their series in scorching heat and strong wind. This is what Ali Martin’s first day in Hamilton looked like.
With the series tied and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now – weather permitting – limited to three Test shootouts, both teams are eyeing the bonus prize of a place in the World Test Championship, most likely with ladder-leader South Will be against. Africa.
Yesterday’s rain gave us plenty of time to consider what would happen if the weather interfered with the competition. As Martin Pagan sees it:
If this match is washed away due to rain, India are most likely to pay the price as the two-time WTC runners-up will have to win all three remaining Tests against Australia to ensure qualification to another final. If Australia clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014-15, they will almost certainly return to the final if they defeat India in the decider in 2023. Australia can still qualify for the final if the series against India is drawn 2-2, with two Tests scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka early next year.
Our own Geoff Lemon had plenty of time on day one to weigh in on where both teams’ fortunes stand based on the coin toss…
Preface
Angus Fontaine
Good morning cricket fans and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of day two of this third Test between Australia and India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Angus Fontaine is here for the first half of the game (touch wood) before being taken to the stumps by Jonathan Howcroft.
First things first: It’s not raining in Gaba. It is cloudy and a strong wind is blowing. It’s hot and it’s humid. Oh, there are also some thin blue stripes on the top of the head. But there is no rain. So all things going well, play will resume an hour earlier today and the action will begin at 9.50am local time (10.50am AEST).
Today’s forecast is the best for the coming week. Things are not looking so good on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “Rainstorms and thunderstorms are possible during the next few days, although no significant rainfall is expected,” the bureau told us.
But let’s live for today and get ready for what the umpires have decided for at least 98 overs of cricket. Rain blamed us for just 13.2 overs bowled by India on the first day, the entire first session, as Brisbane received 81 mm of rain, which meteorologists are dubbing a “rain bomb”.
That torrential rain caused flash flooding across Queensland and raised fears the city could face flooding as devastating as the record-breaking floods of 2022. But this did not dampen Australia’s enthusiasm as they tried to take advantage of a curious decision by India captain Rohit Sharma. Bowling after winning the toss on Gabba ‘Green Top’.
Despite persistent rain, the opening pair of Usman Khawaja (19 not out) and Nathan McSweeney (4 not out) dominated, compiling their highest opening partnership of the series, keeping lunch safe and comfortable with the scoreboard at 28 kept. -0.
From what little we saw, India’s bowlers were a bit shaky, leaving three-Test rookie McSweeney in trouble again after scoring a brilliant 39 in the second Test as he judiciously dismissed Jasprit Bumrah. Left and took singles where he could.
Meanwhile, his normally tired senior partner Khawaja showed impressive intent, leaning back and hitting some of the beautiful boundary strokes we have come to expect from him. Australian fans will be hoping for more on the second day.