Tag: Border Gavaskar Trophy

The third Test between Australia and India in Brisbane ended in a draw after storms halted the hosts’ bid for an unlikely win Wednesday to leave the Border-Gavaskar Trophy locked 1-1.

Early tea was taken on the final day at the Gabba because of bad light with India 8-0 having been set a target of 275 for victory, after Australia declared on 89-7.

But a big storm swept over the ground during the break and play was abandoned, with the five-Test series now heading to Melbourne and then Sydney.

The draw badly hurts India’s chances of making the final of the World Test Championship at Lord’s next year, with Australia now likely to defend their title against South Africa.

“Unfortunately a lot of rain, which you can’t do anything about, but really happy with how the guys played,” said Australia skipper Pat Cummins. “To put 450 (first innings) on is a huge total and then felt like we’re right ahead of the game for all of it.”

With rain causing regular disruptions throughout the Test, the chance of a result other than a draw looked to have disappeared when India avoided the follow-on late on Tuesday.

“I mean, we’ll take that obviously. Having interruptions like that wasn’t great,” said India skipper Rohit Sharma. “But going to Melbourne with one-all pretty much gives us that confidence that we can go out there and try and pull things towards us.”

After losing most of the morning session, Australia began their second innings after lunch showing no signs of an attacking approach.

But once under-pressure openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney fell, along with the equally out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne, the Australian approach seemed to change as the batsmen started to attack every ball.

Khawaja, who turned 38 on Wednesday, came into the second innings after a run of poor form which has seen him not score a century since June 2023.

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He spanked two fours from the first over he faced from Mohammed Siraj but it took the talismanic Jasprit Bumrah just one ball to get his man, the left-hander bowled off an inside edge that also clipped his pad.

Labuschagne was next to go after wafting at a wide ball from Bumrah and edging to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

The carnage continued when McSweeney played a cut shot off Akash Deep, edging to Pant to leave the Australians 16-3.

Deep had his second when Mitchell Marsh, promoted to bat at number four, also left his bat hanging and edged to Pant, with Australia staggering at 28-4.

That became 33-5 when Steve Smith was well caught by a diving Pant down the leg side off Siraj for four.

Australia were obviously trying to set a target for India to chase and Travis Head (17) fell going for quick runs, a wild slog off Siraj getting a top edge that flew skywards for Pant to come around for his fifth catch.

Cummins came in and smashed 22 runs off just 10 balls before miscuing an attempted pull shot off Bumrah and holing out to KL Rahul at mid-off. He sent Mitchell Starc out but declared soon after.

India resumed the day on 252-9 in reply to the hosts’ 445 after a 10th-wicket partnership between Bumrah and Deep late Tuesday allowed them to avoid the follow-on.

They were dismissed for 260 four overs into the first session when Deep was stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off part-time spinner Head.

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Australia pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood is likely to miss the rest of the Test series against India after injuring his right calf during his warm-up before play in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Hazlewood, who missed the second Test in Adelaide with a side strain, bowled just one over before leaving the field on the fourth day of the third Test at the Gabba.

With the series locked at 1-1 and the Test seemingly on course for a draw, the 33-year-old’s latest injury is a major blow to the hosts.

“Josh Hazlewood has sustained a right-sided calf strain which will prevent him from playing any further part in the Test match against India in Brisbane,” a Cricket Australia (CA) statement said.

“He sustained the injury during the warm-up this morning and after bowling one over was unable to continue.

“He is likely to miss the remainder of the Test series. A squad replacement will be made in due course.”

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Australia’s bowling coach Daniel Vettori said Hazlewood was despondent after suffering the injury.

“He felt it this morning in warm-ups and gave it a good crack,” Vettori said.

“It’s just unfortunate for him to come back, put so much effort in after another injury from the side strain in the last Test and to pick up a calf strain, particularly in these circumstances, was tough on him.

“He’s one of the best bowlers in the world and it obviously affects the whole team.”

The fourth Test begins in Melbourne on December 26 with the fifth and final Test in Sydney from January 3.

Vettori said that while he wasn’t a selector, the obvious choice to replace Josh Hazlewood in Melbourne was Scott Boland.

The 35-year-old Boland stepped in for Hazlewood in the pink-ball second Test, which Australia won by 10 wickets to level the series. Boland took five wickets in the match.

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Brisbane’s weather came to save India as most of Monday’s play was lost because of rain on the third day of the third Test of the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at the Gabba.

A rattled India limped to 51-4 at stumps on a day when Australia were only able to bowl 17 overs at the visitors and players left the field seven times due to downpours.

KL Rahul was on 33 at the end of a wet day along with skipper Rohit Sharma, who was yet to score.

Needing 245 to avoid the follow-on, India lost three early wickets in the first session, after earlier bowling Australia out for 445.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli all fell to Australia’s opening bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

They then lost Rishabh Pant just before tea, which was called early because of another downpour that then kept the players off the field for over two hours.

When they did return, bad light saw the Australians throw the ball to off-spinner Nathan Lyon and part-timer Travis Head.

But after only 2.5 overs, umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth decided that the light was not good enough and called an end to play.

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With most of the first day also lost to rain Saturday, Head and Steve Smith’s second-day centuries ensured that India could not realistically win the Test.

More rain is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, raising India’s hopes of salvaging a draw and heading to Melbourne with the series locked at 1-1.

Australia resumed the third day on 405-7 and were eventually bowled out for 445, wicketkeeper Alex Carey the last man out after an enterprising 70.

India’s first target was to avoid the follow-on and so raise their chances of holding out for a draw. But their reply got off to a terrible start when Jaiswal, who edged Starc’s first ball for four runs through gully, chipped the next ball straight to Mitchell Marsh at square leg.

Fellow opener Rahul got a nasty hit on the wrist from a Hazlewood ball that rose sharply off a good length, but after treatment, he was able to continue.

In Starc’s next over, Gill edged to gully and Marsh took a brilliant catch, diving high to his left to leave India in tatters at 6-2.

Kohli was next to go, caught behind by Carey after playing at a full ball from Hazlewood that he could have left alone but instead got a faint edge through to the wicketkeeper. To add insult to injury, as Kohli was walking off the rain started falling and early lunch was called.

There were more rain delays after lunch as Rahul and Pant tried to rescue the situation, but with the score on 44, Pant got a thin edge off Pat Cummins to Carey.

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BRISBANE: Rain played spoilsport as play was abandoned on the first day of the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India at the Gabba here on Saturday.

Australia finished the day on 28-0 with Usman Khawaja 19 not out and Nathan McSweeney on four after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to field.

Only 13.2 overs were bowled during the first session and there was no further play, much to the disappointment of the big crowd that had filed into the Gabba.

At one stage the outfield resembled a lake but as the weather eased the water drained away quickly, leaving only a few small areas still affected.

However, the rain persisted throughout the day and the umpires eventually called off play midway through the final session.

Play will begin 30 minutes earlier for the remaining four days with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled each day. However, while the forecast is better for Sunday, there is more rain predicted early next week.

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After a week of downpours in Brisbane, Rohit would have expected plenty of movement from his opening bowlers, but they struggled to find their length. Jasprit Bumrah appeared down on pace early and Mohammed Siraj was equally unthreatening.

The forecasted rain first came 25 minutes into the day’s play, causing a half-hour delay, and when the players returned Akash Deep at last found the perfect length with movement in the air and off the wicket.

He troubled McSweeney in particular, but 35 minutes later much heavier rain sent the players from the field for the second time.

The five-match series is evenly poised with India thrashing Australia in the first Test in Perth and Australia recording an equally impressive victory in Adelaide.

The Australians, as expected, brought back Josh Hazlewood for Scott Boland after he recovered from a side strain.

India dropped spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast bowler Harshit Rana, replacing them with Ravindra Jadeja and Deep.

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Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood was cleared of his injury on Friday and is set to reunite with fellow pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for the crunch third Test of the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy against India in Brisbane.

The five-match series is finely poised at 1-1 after the visitors won the first game in Perth by 295 runs before crumbling to a 10-wicket defeat with the pink ball in Adelaide.

Hazlewood took five wickets in Perth but picked up a side strain that ruled him out of the next clash.

Scott Boland performed admirably in his place, but it was not enough to save him.

“Josh Hazlewood comes back. He’s had no hiccups, he had a really good bowl yesterday and a couple of days previous,” skipper Cummins told reporters. “Him and the medical team are super confident.”

There are no other changes for the Test starting Saturday.

Cummins admitted it was hard to leave out Boland, but suggested he could still play a part in the series.

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“It’s tough, he was fantastic in Adelaide,” he said of the 35-year-old seamer, who bagged five wickets in the match.

“He’s unfortunately spent a fair bit of time on the bench over the past 18 months. And whenever he’s played, he’s been fantastic.

“A shame for Scotty, but still a fair bit to play out this series. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point.”

The Gabba used to be a fortress for Australia, who were unbeaten there since 1988 until India finally breached it in 2021 to clinch their four-Test series 2-1.

Australia won their next two Tests in Brisbane, against England and South Africa, but were upset again earlier this year by the West Indies.

Cummins played down the significance of results at particular venues.

“It’s just a venue really. We play at dozens and dozens of venues each year,” he said.

“It’s always good coming back to a place that is familiar. As a player you can look back at times where you might have scored runs or taken wickets,” he said. “But the scoreboard starts at 0-0 so the venue isn’t the be-all-and-end-all.”

Australia Squad for third Test against India

Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

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DUBAI: India pacer Mohammed Siraj and Australia batter Travis Head have been penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday for breaching the Code of Conduct during the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia crushed India by ten wickets in the second Test to level the series on the back of their dominant bowling effort and Travis Head’s 140-run knock.

Notably, the incident unfolded in the 82nd over when Siraj bowled Head. As the bails flew off the stumps, Siraj couldn’t help but express his excitement, coming within close proximity to the departing batsman.

Siraj pointed toward the Australian dressing room, seemingly to emphasize the significance of the wicket.

However, this send-off did not go unnoticed by the match officials. As a result, Siraj faced a penalty, being fined 20% of his match fee for violating Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

“Siraj has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee after being found to have breached article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel,” the ICC stated in a press release.

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“[this article] relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal.”

Meanwhile, Head also found himself facing disciplinary action under Article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

“Head was reprimanded after he was found to have breached Article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel,” the ICC added.

Both Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head accepted the charges brought against them, along with the penalties suggested by the Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle.

Moreover, one demerit point was added to both of their disciplinary records, marking their first offence within the past 24 months.

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ADELAIDE: Irrepressible Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc claimed his career-best bowling figures to bundle India for 180 on day one of the pink-ball Test of the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy here on Friday.

After India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss on an overcast day at Adelaide Oval, the visitors were dismissed on the cusp of tea.

The menacing Starc, who gave Australia a dream start by removing India opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal with the first ball of the match, took 6-48. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins both grabbed two each.

Six wickets went down in the second session, including Rohit for three and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant for 21.

Pant should have gone for five, but Nathan McSweeney spilled a sharp chance in the gully after the dangerous Boland, in the side for the injured Josh Hazlewood, drew an edge.

But the 35-year-old seamer got his reward four balls later, beating Rohit’s bat to trap him lbw.

A big innings was needed from Pant, but he was unable to deliver with a vicious climbing ball from Cummins bouncing off the shoulder of his bat and into the hands of Marnus Labuschagne.

Starc was brought back for another spell and was hostile once again, taking care of Ravichandran Ashwin (22) and Harshit Rana (0) in the space of four balls.

With India in trouble, Nitish Kumar Reddy decided to take charge, clobbering two big sixes in one Boland over to reach his highest Test score of 42 before he and Jasprit Bumrah fell to Starc and Cummins respectively.

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India came into the clash riding high after a 295-run victory at the first Test in Perth, but Australia have a formidable record in Adelaide, winning all seven pink-ball Tests they have played at the venue.

The visitors chose to retain Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers in preference to Rohit, who missed the first Test on paternity leave and came in at six.

But the plan backfired as Starc sensationally trapped Jaiswal lbw from a swinging first ball, with the left-armer’s pumped-up celebration showing how much it meant.

The returning Shubman Gill, who was absent from Perth with a thumb injury, then stroked two boundaries in an eventful first over.

But the runs dried up and Rahul was at the crease for 40 minutes without scoring when he was given out, caught behind off Boland.

Rahul was walking off, but a no-ball was called and he survived. Five balls later he had another life, dropped by Usman Khawaja at slip.

Undeterred, the pair battled on, before Starc wove his magic again to remove Rahul for 37 with McSweeney holding a catch low at gully.

Virat Kohli roared back to form in Perth with an unbeaten second-innings century but he was no match for Mitchell Starc this time, out for seven when Steve Smith collected a catch in the slips.

Gill was impressive in weathering the storm, but his luck ran out just before the first break when he fell lbw on 31 to the relentless Boland.

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Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli is on the verge of breaking a 76-year-old record of legendary Sir Don Bradman during the remaining matches of the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

Kohli landed in Australia with the weight of his below-par form and a 16-month century drought.

However, he turned things around in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, displaying a masterclass in strokeplay to mark his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls in the second innings.

This was Kohli’s 30th Test century, which took him ahead of Bradman, who had 29 Test hundreds to his name, in the list of batters with the most centuries in the format.

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Notably, this was Kohli’s 10th century from 43 matches on Australian soil. This impressive feat placed him second on the list for the most international centuries scored by a visiting batter in a single country.

Kohli has scored seven Test centuries, alongside three centuries in ODI matches in Australia.

The record for the most centuries by a visiting batter in a single country is currently held by Don Bradman, who notched up 11 centuries in just 30 innings in England between 1930 and 1948.

With four matches remaining in the Border-Gavaskar series, Virat Kohli is standing on the brink of history, with the opportunity to surpass the remarkable record of Bradman.

Most Centuries by a Visiting Batter in a Single Country

• Don Bradman (Australia) – 11 centuries vs. England
• Virat Kohli (India) – 10 centuries vs. Australia
• Jack Hobbs (England) – 9 centuries vs. Australia
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 9 centuries vs. Sri Lanka
• Vivian Richards (West Indies) – 8 centuries vs. England
• Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 7 centuries vs. England

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Australia pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood was on Saturday ruled out of the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in Adelaide, with seamers Sean Abbott and Brendon Doggett added to their squad.

The right-armer, who took five wickets in Australia’s 295-run first Test defeat at Perth, has what Cricket Australia (CA) described as “a low-grade left side injury”.

“Josh Hazlewood will remain with the group in Adelaide to prepare for the remainder of the series,” CA added.

While the uncapped Abbott and Doggett were drafted in, Hazelwood’s absence is likely to open the door for Scott Boland to play in the day-night Test between Australia and India that will start on Friday.

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Boland, who was already part of the squad, played the last of his 10 Tests in July 2023 against England at Headingley.

If selected it would be Boland’s second Test match in Adelaide after playing against the West Indies in 2022 when he had match figures of 3-45.

There are also question marks around allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who, like Hazlewood, pulled up sore following their Perth thrashing. Beau Webster was on Thursday called into the squad as cover for him.

Squad for the second Border-Gavaskar Test

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal

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Uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster was on Thursday added to the Australia squad for next week’s second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against India in Adelaide as cover for Mitchell Marsh.

The 30-year-old is on standby after Marsh pulled up sore following their 295-run thrashing by the visitors in the first Test at Perth on Monday.

Webster has been in red-hot form for Tasmania in the domestic Sheffield Shield over the past 18 months, with his seam-bowling prowess and explosive batting catching the eye of selectors.

“[Beau] Webster will join the squad next week having been named the Sheffield Shield player of the year last summer and continuing that form this season,” Cricket Australia (CA) said.

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While questions remain around the fitness of Mitchell Marsh Marsh, Australia coach Andrew McDonald has indicated they will likely stick with the same team despite being outsmarted in Perth.

Webster and the rest of the squad are set to arrive in Adelaide earlier than anticipated to get in extra training sessions ahead of the day-night Test starting on December 6.

After Adelaide, the series moves to Brisbane for the third Test, which is scheduled to be played from December 14 to December 18.

The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the fourth match from December 26, while the final Test will be played in Sydney from January 3.

Australia squad for the second India Test

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Beau Webster.

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