(By Ashok Kumar with the help of ESPN):-
Australia 445 (Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 70, Bumrah 6-76) and 89 for 7 dec (Bumrah 3-18) drew with India 260 (Rahul 84, Jadeja 77, Cummins 4-81, Starc 3-83) and 8 for 0
In a ‘Yes’ ‘No’ day, the Gabba test was cosigned to rain. There was a glimmer of hope on Day five when India avoided a follow on but rain thwarted any hope of a result. India came back into the game by taking 7 wickets for 89 runs in Australian second innings to lift some hope for a decision. But rain had the last word.
On the fifth morning, India inched to 260 all out and after another spell of rain Australia came out to bat and Bumrah magic showed some result and the first to go was Usman Khwajah clean bowled for 8. Akash Deep too too came in with rising deliveries and mopped two wickets This was followed by Mohammad Siraj who grabbed the wicket of his nemesis Travis Head and also Steve Smith. Bumrah came back to account for captain Pat Cummins who looked to be in a rush hitting helter and skelter.
Australia’s brief innings on day five gave a glimpse of all the possible rain-free finishes this match could have had. There was pronounced seam movement and uneven bounce, and Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj ripped out five wickets in the space of 11 overs. But some of the wickets also came from Australia’s intent to score quickly. They promoted Mitchell Marsh to No. 4, batted Travis Head above Steven Smith, and kept going for their shots. The runs came at a fair rate too, with the pace of the pitch allowing Head, Alex Carey and Pat Cummins to rattle off a combined 59 off 49 balls. Australia declared at 89 for 7.
Australia’s declaration harked back to the 1950 Test on this same ground, when England declared at 68 for 7 and then Australia at 32 for 7 as both teams tried to make the best of a sticky pitch after a spell of rain. Such events are exceedingly rare in the days of covered pitches, but something not too dissimilar happened on this day with Australia declaring at 89 for 7.
In the first innings Travis Head and Stave Smith buoyed the Australian Innings to set up the game.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his immediate retirement for international cricket following the drawn third Test between Australia and India.
India’s second most successful Test bowler of all-time fronted the post-match press conference at the Gabba with captain Rohit Sharma where he revealed it would be his “last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level”.
“I do feel that there is a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to showcase that in club level cricket,” Ashwin said.
“I’ve had a lot of fun; I’ve created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates.
