IND vs AUS 3rd Test Day 3 Highlights: Rain Intervals Can't Save India as Australia Ends Gabba Dominance

India's fight at Gabba suffered a setback as rain delays dominated most of Day 3 in the Brisbane Test on Monday, December 16. Australia completed their first innings at 445 runs, with Alex Carey playing a good knock. All eyes then turned to the Indian batting lineup.

The day began with Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc continuing Australia's innings with aggressive batting. Carey quickly reached his fifty as the pair added quick runs. Jasprit Bumrah finally broke the partnership, dismissing Starc and achieving two personal milestones with the wicket. Carey then shifted gears, hitting a big six off Akash Deep to keep the pressure on India.

Mohammed Siraj sent back Nathan Lyon, and Akash Deep sealed Australia's innings by taking the wicket of Alex Carey for 70. With such a huge target, it was up to the Indian batting line-up, which was still reeling under poor form in the series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal began with a boundary off the first ball but lost it on the very next delivery as he hit it straight to Mitchell Marsh. Marsh then pulled off an incredible catch to send Shubman Gill back, as his aggressive shot ended in disappointment. Virat Kohli’s struggles continued as he edged a ball outside off-stump to Alex Carey, leaving India in deep trouble at 22 for 3. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant then tried to steady the innings, with Rahul playing some classy shots to reach 30 runs.

However, frequent rains created an obstruction in the game, causing many interruptions for both teams. After one such interruption, Pat Cummins sent Pant for the third time in the series when India was at 48 for 4. Another rain interruption followed this one, with KL Rahul and Mitchell Starc on the field in gloomy conditions. It only allowed Rahul and Rohit Sharma to survive three overs of play before bad weather put an early end to the day. India will go into Day 4 at 51 for 4 with Rahul on 33 and Rohit yet to open his account.

Sunil Gavaskar Criticizes Poor Shot Selection

A recent trend with the Indian cricket team is that most often, the bowlers come to the rescue of the side. This trend was first seen during the New Zealand series when India went down 0-3 despite the efforts of the bowling unit.

Finally, in Perth, the batters came good in the second innings and delivered a memorable win. Apart from that performance, the Indian batting lineup has not done much, and senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma haven't been able to lead by example. On Monday, Sunil Gavaskar called out some of the poor shot selections, highlighting the ongoing concerns with the team's batting.

Sunil Gavaskar didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Indian batters, questioning their approach and shot selection on a challenging day at Gabba. Speaking about Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal, Gavaskar remarked, “Batting is tough when you get out on the second ball playing a shot like that. How do you call it tough when you chase a wide delivery like Shubman Gill did? That’s not tough; that’s failing to understand the situation. Intent is fine, but as an opener, you’re expected to know better. Kohli’s dismissal was on the seventh stump. These are avoidable mistakes.”

Gavaskar further expressed disappointment at the lack of game awareness shown by the team. “The batters threw their wickets away. Chasing 445, the goal should’ve been to survive the first 10 overs and reach lunch safely. Were they aiming to score 245 in the first hour? There was no understanding of the situation,” he concluded.

Fortunately for India, KL Rahul has shown the way on how to tackle the tricky Gabba pitch, which has proven a challenge in handling. Saving the match and taking the series to Melbourne with it still alive is now the task at hand.

Rain Gives India a Lifeline

India might just head to Melbourne with the series locked at 1-1, as the rain in Brisbane continues to disrupt play. Despite the Gabba's excellent drainage system working overtime, the weather has been relentless, and Australia's dominant performance could end without a result to show for it.

The weather forecast for Day 4 and Day 5 doesn't look too great, with rain expected once again. This might just be the slice of luck India needs to hold on and prepare better for the next challenge in Melbourne.

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