Australia v India: third men’s cricket Test, day two

Key events

As players prepare to take the field under increasingly blue skies here at the Gabba, it’s nice to hear Melbourne’s own Hunters & Collectors (street name: “Hunners”) providing the soundtrack for this summer’s thali feast of cricket…

Brisbane isn’t the only city complicating Test cricket with the unpredictability of its weather patterns. England and New Zealand are fighting out the final Test of their series in scorching heat and high wind. Here’s how Ali Martin saw day one in Hamilton.

With the series square at one-all and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now down to a – weather permitting – three-Test shootout, both teams are eyeing the bonus prize of a spot in the World Test Championship, most likely against ladder-leaders South Africa.

Yesterday’s rain gave us plenty of time to ponder the permutations if weather intervenes in this contest.As Martin Pegan sees it:

India are the most at risk of paying a price if rain ruins this contest with the two-time WTC runner-up needing to win all three remaining Tests against Australia to guarantee qualification to another final. If Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15, they would almost certainly return to the final after beating India in the 2023 decider. Australia could still qualify for the final if the series against India is drawn 2-2, with two Tests in Sri Lanka to play early next year.

Our own Geoff Lemon had plenty of time on day one to mull over where both teams’ fortunes lie based on the flip of a coin…

Preamble

Angus Fontaine

Good morning cricket fans and welcome to day two of the Guardian’s live coverage of this third Test between Australian and India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Angus Fontaine here for the first chunk of play (touch wood) before Jonathan Howcroft takes you through to stumps.

First things first: it’s ISN’T raining at the Gabba. It’s cloudy and it’s windy. It’s hot and it’s humid. Hell, there are even some skinny streak of blue overhead. But there’s NO RAIN. So all things going well, play will resume an hour early today with action to get under way at 9.50am local time (10.50am AEST).

The forecast for today is the best for the week ahead. Things aren’t looking so bright for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “Showers and thunderstorms are possible during the next few days, however no significant rainfall is expected,” the Bureau has told us.

But let’s live for today and get ready for what umpires have deigned to be a minimum 98-overs of cricket. Rain condemned us to a measly 13.2 overs bowled by India on day one, all in the first session, as 81 millimetres was dumped on Brisbane in what meteorologists are dubbing a “rain bomb”.

That torrent triggered flash-flooding across Queensland and sparked fears the city could be in for floods as catastrophic as the record-breaking deluges of 2022. But it didn’t dampen Australia’s spirits as they sought to cash in on India captain Rohit Sharma’s curious decision to win the toss and bowl on a Gabba ‘green top’.

Despite the persistent showers, opening pair of Usman Khawaja (19 not out) and Nathan McSweeney (4 not out) kept their powder dry, compiling their highest opening partnership of the series and going to an early lunch safe and snug with the scoreboard at 28-0.

From the little we saw, India’s bowlers were a touch short, allowing three-Test rookie McSweeney to hang tough again after his excellent 39 in the second Test, as he left Jasprit Bumrah judiciously and eked singles where he could.

Meanwhile, his normally dour senior partner Khawaja showed impressive intent, leaning back and unfurling a couple of the lovely boundary strokes we’ve come to expect from him. Australia fans will be hoping for more of this on day two.