The rain halted Australia’s quest for victory in their fourth Test in Gabba, washing out day two’s final session after milestone man Nathan Lyon delivered with bat and ball.
Lyon scored 24 as part of awagging tail that dragged Australia from 315-8 to the total of 369 in Saturday’s morning session. The off-spinner then caught the key wicket of Rohit Sharma, who looked to be very dangerous before giving Mitchell Starc a quick practice of catching in the deep while he reached 44, as India reached 62-2 at Tea.
Thunderstorm Frustration
Thunderstorms destroyed Saturday’s final round, meaning the game will start at 9.30am (local time) on Sunday. the umpires, concerned about the outdoor wet field, informed an eager Tim Paine that it would be stumps after conducting a final pitch inspection at 4.45pm (local time).
India will retain the Border-Gavaskar Cup with a draw or win in Brisbane, where more rain is expected throughout the season.
Lyon, who was given a standing ovation when he walked out to bat, needed three more wickets to celebrate the 400-Test wickets in what is his 100th Test. He took his second wicket to fall after Pat Cummins’ second delivery found the edge of Shubman Gill’s bat and flew to Steve Smith at second slip.
Injury-Riddled Players
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are unbeaten, 8th and two respectively, after helping to maintain and cut down Australia to 307 runs. Pajara and Rahane are the two top strikers in India but also the only players to take part in the first and fourth Tests, which highlights how much of a toll this summer has taken on the injury-riddled touring party.
They look likely to be a bowler down for the rest of the series finale in Brisbane, with paceman Navdeep Saini yet to bowl after suffering a groin injury on day one.
Australian coach Justin Langer will lament his team’s 3-4 decline, which included the wickets of well-set batsmen Paine (50) and Cameron Green (47), as well as their inability to post a more imposing total. But Langer will take heart in the fact that Australia have never lost a Test at the Gabba after scoring 350-plus in the first innings.
Starc finished 20 unbeaten after extending Australia’s innings in the 116th over, testing the resolution of an uncontested attack that did not stop. Thangarasu Natarajan, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar, having bowled a combined 10 deliveries prior to being called up for this Test, captured nine wickets between them at the Gabba.
Lyon hit four clean boundaries, while Starc clattered a six off Sundar in their 39-run partnership.
