It was another gloomy and rainy day at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday as the third day’s play in the India vs Australia third Test had to be ended early due to rain and bad light. With only two days remaining in the third Test, Indians are struggling at 51 for 4 in reply to Australia’s first innings total of 445.
Just 17 overs of play were possible in India’s first innings as players just kept going on and off the field due to spells of rain. On a stop-start day, India bowled out Australia for 445 in their first innings, the hosts adding 40 runs to their overnight total, as the Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continued to do the heavy lifting to finish with excellent figures of 6/76.
Alex Carey chipped in with an entertaining 70 off 88 balls after contrasting hundreds by Steve Smith and Travis Head on the second day laid the foundation for a total which looked more than enough just 14 overs into the Indian first innings.
With the exception of the gutsy KL Rahul (33 batting), who was willing to hang in there, none of the Indian top-order batters showed the stomach to fight. Now the forecast for the next two days is not looking very bright either.
According to Accuweather website, it will be a cloudy and rainy day on Tuesday with early showers and 100 per cent chances of rain. In fact, even Wednesday – the fifth and final day of the 3rd Test – could witness spells of rain with 90 per cent chances of rain predicted.
Brisbane weather prediction for Tuesday and Wednesday. (Source: Accuweather)
The question everyone’s mind is weather Team India can qualify for the WTC 2025 final next year if the Brisbane Test is washed out and ends in a draw. According to the current situation on the WTC 2025 points table, India will qualify for the title clash for the third successive time if they can win the remaining two Tests in the five-match series against Australia to claim the series 3-1 and they don’t have to depend on results of other teams.
If India can win this series 2-1, then Sri Lanka will have to draw at least one out of their next two Tests against Australia at home. If India draw the series 2-2, then Sri Lanka will have to beat Australia with either 1-0 or 2-0 margin to qualify for the WTC 2025 final.
If India draw the series 1-1, then Sri Lanka will have to either draw the series or beat Australia for India to qualify. However, if India lose the Test series against Australia, they will bow out of the race to qualify for the WTC final.
