India vs Australia 3rd Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane ended in a draw due to relentless rain over the course of five days.
India was set a 275-run target on the last day and fans were glued to their seats awaiting an exciting finish. Rain played spoilsport once again on the final day of the Brisbane Test match of the five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, and the series still stands at 1-1.
India were on the backfoot for the most part of the match but made a sensational comeback on Day 4 to avoid a follow on first and later pegged Australians back with a top bowling effort. The hosts declared their second innings at 89/7 after 18 overs and setting a target for India with 50 overs remaining.
The Indian Cricket Team will be pleased with the result, as the draw means that the series remains alive. The remainder of the test matches will be held in Sydney and Melbourne, with conditions slightly better for the touring Indian side to win the series.
For now, the BGT Series is evenly poised, and there is a lot to play for.
Brief Scorecard:
AUS 445 (Travis Head 152, Steve Smith 101 Jasprit Bumrah 6/76) & 89/7 d (Jasprit Bumrah 3/18)
IND 260 (KL Rahul 84, Ravindra Jadeja 77, Pat Cummins 4/81) & 8/0
Result – Match drawn
Let’s now look at the notable performances from the IND vs AUS third test.
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AUS vs IND 3rd Test Key Performances
From the Indian Cricket Team’s point of view, the performances were not up to the mark barring a few individual performances. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were good with the bat to lead India’s resistance in the first innings but the team total was nowhere close to Australia’s 445. However, India will be pleased with the fight the lower batting order had put to avoid the follow on.
With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah was the lone ranger in the first innings with a 6-fer. In the second innings with the ball, Bumrah received good support from Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.
Australia, on the other hand, were excellent with the bat in their first innings after being put into bat by the tourists. Two of their batsmen – Travis Head and Steve Smith – scored hundreds and punished Indian bowlers. They ended with a total of 445 to set up the game.
In the bowling department, the experienced duo of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were on the money. At one point, India was staring at a follow on but the tail wagged to save the embarrassment for the Indian Cricket Team.
There were plenty of positives from the game for the Aussies than the tourists. If it was not for the rain, India would have suffered a hammering.
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Can India qualify for the World Test Championship Final?
India’s third Test against Australia ended in a draw, making the India cricket team’s path to the World Test Championship (WTC) Final a bit complicated. To qualify for the WTC final, the Indian National Cricket Team must win both remaining matches. If they win the ongoing IND vs AUS test series 2-1, Sri Lanka must beat Australia 1-0 or draw 1-1. In the event of a 2-2 series result in BGT 2024-25, India can still make it if Sri Lanka wins 2-0 against Australia or Pakistan to beat South Africa 2-0.
WTC Points Table after IND vs AUS 3rd Test
| Position | Team | Matches | Points Played | Points | PCT | |||
| P | W | L | D | |||||
| 1 | South Africa | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 120 | 76 | 63.33 |
| 2 | Australia | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 180 | 106 | 58.88 |
| 3 | India | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 204 | 114 | 55.88 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 168 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 132 | 60 | 45.45 |
| 6 | England | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 264 | 114 | 43.18 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 120 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8 | Bangladesh (E) | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 144 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 9 | West Indies (E) | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 132 | 32 | 24.24 |
Post-match Reactions
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): I mean, we will take that. Obviously to have interruptions like that wasn’t great, but going to Melbourne at 1-1 pretty much gives us that confidence to go out there and pull things towards us. The situation we were in just after lunch (on Day 4), needed someone to stand up and take us through, we knew with the weather, we knew it wasn’t going to be a full game. Credit to Jadeja, the way he played, and Rahul, the way he played was magnificent at the top of the order. the fight that Akash Deep and Bumrah was great to watch, we have seen them work so hard at the nets (on their batting). Coming to the bowling, Bumrah was outstanding, Akash Deep is a feisty cricketer, always wants to be involved in the game, very new to international cricket, he has worked hard at the nets, still new to international cricket, but he has put in the hard yards, there are people in the group to put their hand across and help him going forward. As he showed with the bat, these are the sort of characters we needed in the team.
Pat Cummins (Australia Captain): Would be better to be 2-1, lot of rain, nothing we can do about it. We set a huge total and felt like we were right ahead of the game throughout. Poor Josh (Hazlewood), one of those things, few rain breaks probably helped, Starc and I were able to push through. Day 5 here can be up and down, there wasn’t much cricket played on it, felt challenging when the ball was new and hard. Smith and Head’s innings’ were fantastic, Alex Carey too. Lyon looked really good, Starc got wickets, just about ticked off every box. (On the full-house expected at the MCG on boxing-day) That will be amazing, one of those things here in Australia that you wake up and can’t wait for.
Travis Head (Player of the Match): Feels like I batted quite a while ago to be honest. Happy to contribute, nice to get some runs and set us up in the first innings. Challenging wicket, worked through the gears well, pleased I was able to get through and set the team up. Was trying to sum up the conditions, feel like I’ve done that well in this series so far, very happy with the tempo I’m batting with. Pretty relaxed communication, feel like he (Smith) was in great rhythm, gives me great confidence when batting with him, was a nice partnership, really enjoyed it. When I first get out there, I try and navigate different challenges, solve different problems. Just a little sore but I should be fine (before the next game).
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India vs Australia Test Series 2024 Results
| Match No. | Match Details | Venue | Date | Time (IST) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India vs Australia, | Perth Stadium, Perth | Nov 22-26 | 7:50 AM | India won by 295 runs |
| 2 | India vs Australia, 2nd Test | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Dec 06-10 | 9:30 AM | Australia won by 10 wkts |
| 3 | Australia vs India, 3rd Test | The Gabba, Brisbane | Dec 14-18 | 5:50 AM | Match drawn |
| 4 | Australia vs India, 4th Test | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | Dec 26-30 | 5:00 AM | Match starts on Dec 26 |
| 5 | Australia vs India, 5th Test | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | Jan 03-07 | 5:00 AM | Match starts on Jan 03 |
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