3rd Test: Australia's fast bowlers wreak havoc on India amid persistent rain

Brisbane, Dec 16 (NationPress) Monday proved to be a challenging day in the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test as rain made its presence felt by disrupting play on numerous occasions. However, Australia’s fast bowlers capitalized on the conditions, claiming vital wickets and putting India in serious trouble.

As the day concluded with only 33.1 overs of play possible, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood dismantled India's top-order, leaving them at 51/4 in 17 overs and trailing Australia by 394 runs.

With KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma remaining unbeaten on 33 and zero respectively, India needs an additional 246 runs to avoid a follow-on, a situation they haven't encountered since The Oval Test in 2011. However, with rain forecasted for days four and five, India might have a chance to escape being 2-1 behind in the five-match series.

In the morning session, under overcast skies, Australia concluded their first innings at a formidable 445, with Alex Carey scoring 70. Jasprit Bumrah clinched his sixth wicket, finishing with 6-76 in 28 overs, before Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep each secured a wicket to wrap up Australia's innings.

After rain caused a five-minute delay at the start, Carey reached his fifty by sweeping Ravindra Jadeja for a boundary. Starc enjoyed himself, slog-sweeping and hitting boundaries off Jadeja and Bumrah, before nicking behind to Rishabh Pant off Bumrah.

This also marked Bumrah's 50th Test wicket in Australia, making him only the second Indian pacer after Kapil Dev to reach this milestone. Carey struck boundaries off Akash Deep on either side of a 15-minute rain interruption, before Siraj bowled Nathan Lyon with a full delivery. Carey was the last Australian to fall, pulling to mid-wicket off Akash, as Australia remained in a commanding position.

India's innings began with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting a healthy edge for four off Mitchell Starc. However, on the very next ball, Jaiswal flicked a half-volley straight to square leg and was dismissed for four. This incident marked the third time in this series that Jaiswal fell to left-arm pacer Starc.

Australia’s bowlers effectively utilized their height to extract uneven bounce, with Josh Hazlewood delivering a length ball that struck KL Rahul on the left arm. Starc returned to have Shubman Gill driving away from his body on a wide delivery, resulting in an edge snapped by Mitchell Marsh at gully.

Virat Kohli appeared uncomfortable from the start, being beaten by Hazlewood initially, before gloving a sharp bouncer from Starc. After Hazlewood was hit for two boundaries by Rahul, he celebrated when he enticed Kohli to drive away from his body against an outside off-stump delivery, leading to a catch behind to Carey, just before rain forced an early lunch.

The post-lunch session featured only eleven balls of action, as Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul attempted to rotate the strike before rain interrupted again. Following the rain, Rahul executed a beautiful drive off Cummins for four. However, Cummins quickly responded, angling one across the stumps and forcing Pant to nick behind to Carey for nine.

This marked the third time Cummins dismissed Pant in this series, after previously not taking his wicket in Tests. Rahul drilled Starc through cover for another four before looking despondent as rain returned, leading to an early tea break.

In the final session, only 2.5 overs of play were possible. After Starc completed his over, Rahul and Rohit faced Nathan Lyon and Travis Head, who bowled from round the wicket and found both turn and bounce. Hopes of additional overs were dashed when rain returned, bringing an end to a frustrating day of Test cricket.

Brief Scores: Australia 445 in 117.1 overs (Travis Head 152, Steve Smith 101; Jasprit Bumrah 6-76, Mohammed Siraj 2-97) lead India 51/4 in 17 overs (KL Rahul 33 not out; Mitchell Starc 2-25) by 394 runs