India captain Rohit Sharma had no hesitation to bowl first in the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, with clouds hanging over the stadium and an expectedly juicy Gabba pitch waiting for the fast bowlers to exploit it. But there was no help evident in the air and very little off the track, which was confirmed by Jasprit Bumrah.
While delivering the fifth over of the match, India’s bowling spearhead and vice-captain Bumrah’s words were caught on the stump microphone as he said: “Nahin ho raha swing aise bhi; kahin bhi kar lo (the ball is not swinging no matter where you bowl).”
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The rain-hit first day of the match saw only 13.2 overs delivered amid two interruptions. But the Australian openers, Usman Khawaja (19*) and Nathan McSweeney (4*), didn’t face any trouble whatsoever in taking the score to 28 for 0.
The Indian opening bowlers, Bumrah and Siraj, started with largely a middle-and-leg-stump line while trying to see if the ball was swinging from there. But it didn’t, and Bumrah’s words confirmed that.
After the first rain delay, the Indian pacers shifted to a fifth-stump line just outside off, but didn’t get much help — neither with swing nor off the seam.
Reports in the Australian media after the toss suggested that Rohit’s decision to bowl first is ‘a trap many touring captains have fallen into at the Gabba’.
“Good one (toss) to lose,” said former Australia all-rounder Brendon Julian while doing commentary on Fox Cricket.
“I think the lead up to this Test was a lot of rain; and when the players came out for their practice sessions before, they had a look at it and it was green. But out there this morning, I didn’t think it was a bowl-first pitch.”
Australia’s former Test spinner Kerry O’Keeffe said history suggests you have to bat first at the Gabba.
“You bat at the Gabba. If you face Australia, you want them to bat second and fourth,” he said.
Statistics tell that Australia haven’t lost a Test at the Gabba after they have been asked to bat first since 1985. They have won six and drawn three Tests in nine such instances at the venue in the last 39 years.
