BRISBANE (AP) – Crushing victories by each side in the first two tests and mediocre form by some of the teams’ leading batters means there is no clear favourite in the third match of the five-test Australia-India series in Brisbane.
India won the first test by 295 runs at Perth, Western Australia while Australia came back to win the second day-night test in Adelaide by an equally emphatic 10 wickets.
On paper it is advantage Australia considering the home side’s record at Brisbane’s Gabba ground, which is often referred to as The Fortress by Australian cricket fans.
In their last 35 test matches since 1988, the Australians have lost only twice and drawn seven while winning 26 at the Gabba.
India has played seven test matches at the Gabba between 1947 and 2021 and has won one and drawn one at the venue. But the last time the teams played there, in January 2021, India won by three wickets, breaking Australia’s undefeated record of 32 years at the stadium located in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Woolloongabba, hence the stadium’s short-form nickname.
To add to the uncertainty over the series, home advantage is not what it used to be in test cricket. New Zealand won 3-0 recently in India and England has a winning 2-0 lead in its three-test series with New Zealand. England could make it a clean sweep with a win in the third test in Hamilton, New Zealand.
For the stats gurus, data shows that in the last 10 tests in Brisbane the side that has scored the most runs out of their opening two wickets of both innings has won nine of them.
Australia’s fate could rest in the hands of Nathan McSweeney, the new opener who replaced the test-retired David Warner, fellow opener Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, all of whom have faced scrutiny over their lack of scoring.
India’s top order has also had its problems to start the series, only passing 70 for the second wicket in the side’s second innings in its big win at Perth.
Australia has had similar struggles against Jasprit Bumrah, with McSweeney, Khawaja and Smith all yet to post half-centuries.
Bumrah, meanwhile, got through 30 minutes of bowling while Rohit Sharma showed signs he could open the batting. After dealing with a minor groin injury in Adelaide, Bumrah completed a full workout on Thursday.
The 31-year-old Bumrah has taken 12 wickets at an average of 11.25 for the series, claiming McSweeney’s wicket three times, as well as Smith and Khawaja twice each.
Out-of-form India captain Sharma, who returned in Adelaide after paternity leave – his wife gave birth to a son on November 15, the couple’s second child – spent time facing the new ball in the nets on Thursday, after batting at number six in Adelaide.
Sharma made scores of three and six in India’s lopsided loss in Adelaide, and has gone above 20 just twice in his past 12 test innings.
Ravi Shastri, who played 80 tests for India and previously coached the team, said yesterday that Sharma should return to the top of the order.
“That’s where he’s been at his best over the last eight or nine years,” Shastri told local media.
“It’s not that he’s going to set the world on fire – he could – but that’s the place that’s best for him. To lead from the front.”
Shastri said he believes whoever wins the Brisbane test will go on to clinch the series.
The fourth test is set for the Melbourne Cricket Ground beginning December 26 and the final test in Sydney from January 3.
“It is important that India gets their judgment right here, because 1-1 in the series, this is the moving test match,” Shastri said.
Yesterday, Josh Hazlewood was cleared to return from a side strain that forced him to miss the Adelaide match. Fellow fast bowler Scott Boland made way for Hazlewood in the only Australian change for Brisbane.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said that with the final three tests being played over a 25-day period, Boland will likely to make another appearance this series.
“I would be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point,” Cummins said of Boland. “(We’ve told him) it’s just about preparing for the MCG because it is a good chance we might need you.”