India salvage a draw

Visitors push match to stalemate as rain plays spoilsport; end day at 8-0 after Australia declare quickfire second innings at 89-7 to set India target of 275

To no one’s great surprise, the third Test ended in a predictable stalemate, but not without the attendant drama that is such an integral part of Australia-India cricket. R Ashwin’s retirement from Test cricket was evidently the most dramatic development on Wednesday as the curtain came down on a career most glorious even as the series stayed level at 1-1 with the teams heading to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test starting next Thursday.

The forecast was for thunderstorms and they don’t usually get it wrong in this part of the world, but in whatever little play was possible, India’s seamers did make a strong statement with Australia looking to force the pace for no discernible reason. India’s first innings lasted only 13 minutes on the final morning before Akash Deep’s valiant effort was halted by Travis Head, who had him stumped. By posting 260, India kept Australia’s lead down to 185.

With thunderclap and lightning arriving on the back of each other, Australia’s second innings didn’t kick off until 12.40 pm and when it did, Jasprit Bumrah was again in beast mode, accounting for Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in his first burst. With rain imminent, Australia might have been better served trying to bat out time, but they chose to adopt a different strategy, taking on the Indian quicks and losing wickets in a rush in the process.

Pat Cummins applied a token declaration at 89 for seven, setting India a target of 275 in a potential 54 overs. Realistically, even a fifth of those overs appeared doubtful; when first bad light and then rain descended on the Gabba, India were eight without loss in the third over. The match was officially called off at 3.25 pm, but the outcome was known long before that.

While Ashwin dominated the conversation, it was hard to understand what Australia were looking to achieve by embracing the approach they did. The decision to move Mitchell Marsh up to No. 4 was ‘tactical’, as per official word, but it served no purpose, nor did the helter-skelter batting style which presented Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj with important Test wickets. Deep in particular would have welcomed the scalps of Nathan McSweeney and Marsh, having found little reward for his outstanding first-innings bowling, while Siraj accounted for the two big fish, Steve Smith strangled down leg in his first outing at No. 6 since 2014 and Travis Head, India’s nemesis, caught off a skier attempting a pull.

With dark clouds gathering, Pat Cummins chose to still bat on, and hit out. Australia’s captain smacked two fours and as many sixes before Bumrah came back for a second spell and snared him with a slower ball. The declaration came almost immediately, though why was still not obvious. Australia might seek to write off the seven wickets as being a result of their intent to force the pace but in so many ways, it defied logic and might have provided India with a window of hope going into the MCG, however tenuous that might be.

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