🏏Australia vs India, 3rd Test: Brisbane, 14 - 18 Dec 2024, Day 5 🏏

🏏Australia vs India, 3rd Test: GABBA, Brisbane, 14 - 18 Dec 2024, @ 5:50 AM IST🏏

Struggling batters brace for tough test at the Gabba

The last time India played at this venue, they pulled off one of the greatest wins in Test cricket

A banger for the holiday season

We're back where we started with the series level and two teams with both promise and flaws squaring off again on fabled turf. The cricket has been compelling, at times unpredictable. There's even been a little heat between the players. The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is veering dangerously close to classic territory. Imagine if it's 2-2 going into Sydney.

Some of the bowling that's been on show - Harshit Rana taking out Travis Head's off stump in Perth, Pat Cummins returning the favour against Rohit Sharma in Adelaide, Jasprit Bumrah every single time he runs in - has been dreamy. So the Gabba can't be blamed for making eyes at them. One day out, the pitch still retains a tinge of green.

A first-innings average of 18.65 runs per wicket - a figure so rare it's only been bettered once in the last 10 years, and that was in a one-off Test between England and Ireland - reflects not just the class of both teams' bowling attacks, but a little bit about the conditions and the frailty of the batting as well.

Australia are blooding in a new opener and their two most reliable run-scorers aren't operating at the levels they're used to. India will be able to sympathise because like Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (who could be returning as opener) have been more down than up. The last three are in their mid to late 30s, so their form comes with added scrutiny, on top of the surprise that these high-profile players are yet to really influence this high-profile series. (Kohli has a century but the match-winning innings there came from Yashasvi Jaiswal)

Of course it isn't a surprise that there are surprises when these two teams go at each other. In 2017, Australia took the lead and India hit back. Ditto in 2021. In 2018 and 2023, India took the lead and Australia hit back. This tells you there isn't a lot separating these sides. Australia's win in Indore last year and India's in Perth two weeks ago bucked expectation and there are bound to be more thrills and spills as these two ring in the holiday season.

Gabba Weather Forecast:

Besides deciding their respective playing eleven, both the teams will also keep an eye on the weather and deploy personnel accordingly, with the fast bowlers looking to enjoy the bounce on a juicy track in overcast conditions that may further make life difficult for the batters.
The forecast is for partly cloudy skies with medium chances of showers throughout the match, with maximum temperature between 30 and 32. The good part about the forecast as of now is that no heavy rain or thunderstorms are predicted.

Gabba Pitch Report:

The pitch for the game is expected to provide more assistance to fast bowlers, considering the match is being played in the early part of the Australian summer.
When India won the Gabba Test on their last tour in 2020-21, the match was played in January, when the pitch had already had some amount of wear and tear after being used for the Sheffield Shield matches.
The pitch curator at the Gabba has said the pitch will be relatively more "fresh" and offer a fair amount of "pace and carry".

Pitch and conditions: Some wet weather around

Australia have lost two of their last four Tests here, after losing nothing in 32 years. There was a pattern to those two defeats though. Both took place at the end of the season, in January. In between, there was a Test against South Africa in December 2022, which ended in two days and was a party for the fast bowlers. And also one against England in December 2021 that ended in a nine-wicket win for Australia. Early-season cricket here is fast-bowler friendly, a likelihood further increased by rain forecast through the course of the Test.

"[Yesterday it] looked like a good wicket, like it has the last few years," Cummins said. "Bit of sun baking on it the last couple of days, don't think it's as green and leafy as it was against South Africa."

In the spotlight

Steven Smith has 19 runs in two Tests. His last hundred was 24 innings ago. But there was a 91 not out in there, at the Gabba, which he put forward as proof that his opening the batting for Australia was not really the worst idea. Back at No. 4, due to popular demand, he has had a little trouble starting his innings, trouble that he used to avoid, like getting lbw.

Rishabh Pant continues to do Rishabh Pant things. In Adelaide, with India three down in the 15th over, he charged out of the crease and flayed Scott Boland over cover. He was also seen at Rundle mall, putting his shopping on hold to play peek-a-boo with a little kid. Now he's at the scene of his greatest triumph as a cricketer after his greatest triumph as a person.

Venue Guide

Stadium: The Gabba

City: Brisbane

Capacity: 42000 (approx)

Measures: 149.9m square, 170.6m straight

Ends: Stanley Street End, Vulture Street End

Hosts to: Queensland, Brisbane Heat

Head to Head - Last 5 Matches

Australia won by 10 wickets, 06-Dec-2024

India won by 295 runs, 22-Nov-2024

Australia won by 209 runs, 07-Jun-2023

Match drawn, 09-Mar-2023

Australia won by 9 wickets, 01-Mar-2023

Batters to watch(Recent stats)

Usman Khawaja, AUS

10 M • 600 Runs • 33.33 Avg • 41.32 SR

Mitchell Marsh, AUS

10 M • 584 Runs • 36.5 Avg • 70.27 SR

Yashasvi Jaiswal, IND

10 M • 955 Runs • 53.06 Avg • 71.21 SR

Shubman Gill, IND

8 M • 658 Runs • 50.62 Avg • 61.9 SR

Bowlers to watch(Recent stats)

Mitchell Starc, AUS

10 M • 44 Wkts • 3.9 Econ • 40.31 SR

Josh Hazlewood, AUS

9 M • 43 Wkts • 2.64 Econ • 37.72 SR

Ravindra Jadeja, IND

8 M • 39 Wkts • 3.11 Econ • 36.64 SR

Ravichandran Ashwin, IND

9 M • 38 Wkts • 3.72 Econ • 40.5 SR

Thanks for the tag and thread. Aaj match thoda early hai, good good. Ind need to win, its must win for Ind

When: Australia v India, 3rd Test, December 14-17, 2024, 10:20 hrs Local Time, 11:20 AEST, 05:50 hrs IST

Where: The Gabba, Brisbane

What to expect: It was an unusually cool welcome to Brisbane a couple of days ago, but while the rain has stayed away since, leading to two steamy days in Queensland, the showers have returned by the night before the Test. And the forecast over the next few days isn't the most promising, even if the locals are convinced that good weather will prevail. The conditions overhead on Saturday morning will have a big bearing on what the captain winning the toss decides, while the surface below will come up for a lot of discussion as is the norm in Brisbane. The ultra-green nature of the pitch has given way to a slightly less intimidating on the eve of the Test.

Team News

Australia

From reports about Josh Hazlewood being whisked away in a van to him allegedly having secret net sessions, the main focus around Australia's preparation concerned the fitness of their world-class fast bowler. Before Cummins revealed that his fellow paceman had indeed ticked all boxes to come back into the playing XI at the expense of the unlucky Scott Boland.

Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

India

Rohit Sharma's absence from the optional practice session caused a bit of a stir amongst those not used to Indian cricket. But it was clearly just a case of him not wanting an additional hit in the nets unlike Shubman Gill or Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rohit did face the new ball for a bit but is unlikely to ask for a promotion to the top of the order after only one Test. That should mean the top 6 says the same with intrigue around the spinner's slot. R Ashwin did nothing wrong not to keep his place in the side but Washington Sundar had done little wrong to lose his place in the side after Perth. Meanwhile, it looks certain that there will be a change in the fast bowling department with Harshit Rana set to miss out with the impressive Akash Deep the likeliest choice to come in.

Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Nitish Kumar Reddy, R Ashwin/Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana/Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj

Stats and trivia

Jasprit Bumrah is averaging 11.25 runs per wicket this series. The next best for India is Mohammed Siraj with 19.77 but then the gulf widens.

Travis Head is averaging 80 and striking at 94 in this series. The next best for Australia is Alex Carey with 24 and 59.5. There's a bit of catching up to do there for the hosts.

Pat Cummins has an outstanding record at the Gabba: in seven Tests he has taken 40 wickets at 18.22

India could have just four players from the famous 2020-21 victory at the Gabba: Rohit, Gill, Pant and Siraj. It could be five if Washington plays.