Australian coach Daniel Vettori believes that his team winning the third Test in Brisbane are small after India’s brave last-wicket stand broke their dreams of a follow-on. On top of that, the undefeated partnership by Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep made a draw being the most likely result because of the bad weather.
All this drama of rain took place at Gabba, which is the location of India’s historic series win in 2021. Australia was wishing to force a follow-on against India for the first time in 23 years. However, their hopes were crushed by the tail-enders of the Indian batting lineup. When the stumps were called off at Day 4 due to bad lighting, the visitors were at 252/9 as they trailed the hosts by 193.
“I think the only way to force the game was to enforce the follow-on. There was desperation to get that final wicket. We thought we had a real chance after Jadeja was dismissed, but credit to Bumrah and Deep for a fighting partnership,” Vettori said during post-day press conference.
There were several delays in the match due to bad weather, which made matters worse for Australia, as there was no consistency for the bowlers, and the players kept getting frustrated by each halt.
“Unfortunately, the amount of time lost to weather has made it difficult [to force a result],” Vettori added.
When Akash hit a massive six over the mid-wicket in the last minutes of the game, the umpires took no time and stopped the game due to bad light, which added to the drama of the day. The team avoiding the follow-on caused a layer of joy as the dressing room exploded in celebration.
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