Ahead of the third Test Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 between India and Australia at The Gabba, cricket fans expressed their feelings after witnessing the net sessions of both teams. The third Test of the series is set to begin on December 14 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. Following a resounding 295-run defeat to the visitors at Perth’s Optus Stadium–where standout performances from Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were on display–the hosts bounced back strongly.
With the series now level at 1-1, the next encounter takes place at “The Gabba,” a venue where an inexperienced Indian side handed Australia their first Test loss in over 32 years during the 2020-21 tour.
Australia cricket fan, Jacob said that he is really confident that his side will emerge as champions in the third match of the series.
“I am confident that the Aussies will win again. If Australia win the toss then they should probably bowl first. My favourite player in the team is Pat Cummins. I like Jasprit Bumrah as well. The way he bowls is just crazy. With his unique action, he just takes so many poles,” Jacob said while speaking to ANI.
Another cricket fan, Koshu said that India’s stalwart batter Virat Kohli is his favourite and and he has come here to see him play.
“It’s going to be interesting. The Australian batters are looking good but we’ve got Bumrah as well and Siraj. It’s going to be a good match. I’m looking forward to seeing Virat Kohli bat and Usman Khawaja for Australia but mainly it is Virat Kohli,” Koshu said.
In the end, there was one more player whose name was Joe. He said that his favourite Indian players are Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul.
“It feels really good. It’s really nice to see Australia practicing. It’s not very often you come and see the professionals practicing the game. It feels like they’re middling a lot of the balls. They’re getting ready for the game. It’s two days to go. It’s really exciting. Some good shots are being played. I can’t wait for the game to start. Bumrah is my favourite cricketer. I bowl a little bit myself. I like the areas he bowls. He has good line length and good pace. He’s got a lot of wickets in the series so far. I’m really keen to see him come back and bowl again. I think KL Rahul has had a good couple of games. If he gets on well at the start of the innings, I think he can score some good few runs coming up,” Joe said.
Recapping the Adelaide Test, India won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they had to face the wrath of a moving, erratic pink ball and its mastermind, Mitchell Starc (6/48). Except for a 69-run stand for the second wicket between KL Rahul (37 in 64 balls with six fours) and Shubman Gill (31 in 51 balls, with five fours) and a fighting 42 in 54 balls (three fours and three sixes) from Nitish Kumar Reddy, there was not much highlights from India who were skittled out for 180 runs. Skipper Cummins and Scott Boland also took two wickets.
In the first innings, a 67-run partnership between Nathan McSweeney (39 in 109 balls, with six fours) and Marnus Labuschagne (64 in 126 balls, with nine fours) for second wicket set the platform for Travis Head to impose his domination over Indian bowlers yet again with a counter-attacking 140 in 141 balls, with 17 fours and four sixes, just when Aussies lost some regular wickets. His century took Australia to 337 runs and gave them a 157-run lead.
Jasprit Bumrah (4/61) and Mohammed Siraj (4/98) were top bowlers for India. Ravichandran and Nitish got a wicket each.
In their second innings, India appeared even more toothless as the star-studded top-order and middle-order returned back to pavillion despite starts from Jaiswal (24 in 31 balls, with four boundaries), Gill (28 in 30 balls, with three fours) while KL Rahul (7) and Virat Kohli (11 in 21 balls with a four) failed to score well. India ended day two at 128/5.
On the third day, Pant also lost his wicket for 28 in 31 balls, with five fours. From there on, it was not looking back for the Aussies, who skittled out India for 175 runs in 36.5 overs. India led by just 18 runs, setting Aussies 19 runs to win.
Skipper Cummins (5/67) took a majestic five-wicket haul, his eighth as a captain. Boland took 3/51 while Starc took 2/60.Set a target of 19 runs, Khawaja (10*) and McSweeney (9*) chased it down without breaking a sweat in 3.2 overs.
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