Australia and India’s showdown delayed by Gabba deluge, but Rohit Sharma may have dodged a bullet

For a quick whereas it was nearly inconceivable to establish a patch of grass on the Gabba outfield.

The rain fell with such a sustained ferocity that your complete joint was submerged in water, save for the large white tarp that desperately tried to guard a cricket wicket.

It is by no means an excellent signal when the bottom workers must park their carts and tractors on the corners of the covers to maintain them from blowing away, however because the worst of the storm got here via you questioned if that will even be sufficient.

At a floor well-known for its capacity to face up to probably the most excessive climate, this was uncharted territory.

We have all seen the clips of Dean Jones working helmets out to groundskeepers being peppered by hail, or the thick layer of white that blanketed the turf within the closing phases of the 2013/14 Ashes Check right here, however flash flooding like that is so uncommon as to be awe-inspiring.

Not precisely nice circumstances for cricket although.

And what a terrific disgrace that’s, as a result of tens of 1000’s had turned up on a moist however largely dry morning hoping for a doubtlessly decisive act in an more and more dramatic Check sequence.

All of them got here effectively conscious that some rain was probably, and that play might be usually interrupted, however not even the bleakest forecast predicted a downpour of this extent.

India successful the toss and sending Australia in was one other act in service of the narrative, pitting the Aussies’ nonetheless vulnerable high order in opposition to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj on what was anticipated to be a little bit of a firecracker pitch.

It’s in all probability foolish to make too sturdy a judgement on the idea of 13.2 overs of play, however looking back the climate might have been a saving grace for India.

The pitch was by far probably the most docile we have seen within the first session of a Brisbane Check for a while, and even with the heavy overhead circumstances the ball wasn’t swinging a complete lot.

Bumrah nonetheless bowled some beauties and the runs have been hardly flowing via the early overs, however for probably the most half Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney batted with relative consolation.

Khawaja got here out with a transparent and noticeable intent, sweating on something simply again of a size to drag and whipping off his pads with a flourish somewhat than a flick. All of it solely added as much as 19 not out from 47 balls, however within the spirit of over-analysing issues, it was a promising begin for the veteran opener.

Even earlier than the rain hit, this stand between Khawaja and McSweeney was the very best between openers in a primary innings to date this sequence. When the toss fell in Rohit Sharma’s favour his determination to bowl was impressed by expectations of a swinging, seaming ball — expectations that did not come to fruition.

In order the gamers sat of their respective change rooms, enjoying playing cards or no matter it’s they do today, maybe it might have been the Indians feeling probably the most reduction.

The one Gabba clip extra replayed than the Dean Jones one is that of Nasser Hussain successful the toss in 2002, sending Australia in to bat and being made to look at Matthew Hayden tear the English assault asunder for a whole day.

That reminiscence, and the concern of “pulling a Nasser” on the Gabba overrules any statistical proof that implies bowling first here’s a prudent alternative, and in order these 13 overs ticked by with little menace to the batter, Rohit would have been feeling the nerves.

Now we get a recent begin. The forecast for day two is way much less ominous, however there’s each likelihood the thorough drenching the Gabba simply obtained might assist spice the pitch up just a bit.

Khawaja and McSweeney must open the batting over again. Bumrah will probably be rested and can certainly have recalibrated to get a number of of these sloppy ones down the leg facet out of his system.

India has recalled Akash Deep for this Check and the early glimpses of his bowling have been very encouraging. With some bounce and carry, he appears an excellent match for the Gabba pitch — although what kind of Gabba pitch we’ll get in spite of everything this rain is anybody’s guess.

Hours after the worst of it had set in there was nonetheless a wholesome spattering of diehards within the stands. They constructed pyramids out of promotional rooster buckets, sang alongside to Nation Roads prefer it was August and Charlie Cameron was doing his factor, all of the whereas usually ignoring the state of the rain radar.

Their resilience spoke to each the Gabba’s well-known drainage and the thirst for extra cricket on this sequence, which is edging its approach ever nearer to a turning level.

There was hope it’d come on Saturday, however South-East Queensland’s wonderful tropical volatility intervened. Fortunately all of us get to attempt once more on Sunday, hopefully whereas safely again on dry land.

The largest Australia-India moments

All through the summer season, we’ll look again at among the finest tales and share our personal favorite moments from Australia and India’s cricket historical past.

Be part of us to proceed the dialog on our reside blogs and on the radio over the summer season earlier than the readers’ high 10 is revealed forward of the fifth Check on the SCG from January 3.

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