3RD TEST PREVIEW – AUSTRALIA v INDIA

3 minute read

Was it just the pink ball or some red mist but whatever the reason, something got the Australian team going in Adelaide?

Check out the Racing And Sports Preview for the Indian Tests this summer with a betting idea at the end.

AUSTRALIA v INDIA

3rd Test

14 – 18 December 2024 @ Gabba

Buying fifth, nay fourth day attendance Test tickets, is known in the trade as an exercise in futility. Christmas may be coming up but if you had to choose, you'd get the family a nice dinner or a TAB voucher because the other is unlikely to be used.

Weather might be the only thing these days that sends a Test into the second half of its existence. That does have negatives associated with it as broadcasters lose both content and scheduling certainty.

Test Cricket is one of the very few sports in the world where the outcome has a varying end time. Even accounting for baseball's longevity, imagine trying to explain to the Americans that there used to be Timeless Tests.

WWII curtailed that sporting indulgence. The whole proposition is incredible to believe even now.

So with limitations for the last 85 years, you'd think speed of play would have been prioritised but that has not been the case. That is, until now.

Playing it safe doesn't work in the modern cricket era. The average run rate in the last six or so years has to have gone up by at least 1 run per over (and maybe more).

England's evolution has certainly played its part. Not that they are a great side in toto but stylistically their urgency has helped them no doubt. Other teams are either copying the flair, or at worst, picking players with attack-first mentalities.

Geoffrey Boycott, in all his yorkie ways, would cry on his Sunday best Yorkshire pudding at some of the shots played. They have even come on the first ball of a Test match as we saw in the last Ashes.

And while much of it is seen as extravagant, undeniably it has influenced the game. Applying that to the last Test, Travis Head took the lure and ran with it.

He ventured to his favourite centre at 3-103 and his side still behind in the game. Capable of a very fast twist with Bumrah ready to cut a swathe through the lower order, Head counter attacked.

Much in the way Gilchrist took games off opponents and was a transformative player, Head did the same. He might not be quite as good but the method is equally effective.

140 off 141 balls hurt India greatly. A dropped catch did too. Leading by only 50, the script was ready to be enacted. Oh the irony of it being Siraj that shelled it given what was to come.

Travis all but doubled his score and over a hundred more went on the margin between sides. It gave the impetus to the home side as the lights took over.

From there, some of the best exponents of that, in Starc and Boland with the Skipper joining the party, took over. India's batting looked askew with Rohit at 6 having been the long-time opener. It would be no surprise to see Rahul and Rohit swap.

What won't be swapped is a little tête-à-tête between the two sides you expect. Head and Siraj gave as good as they got. The heat of battle can spice things up and the send-off when your rival peels off 140 is questionable.

But have no doubt both sides would have been offering lip. While ever those matters have zero basis in obvious no-go zones, it's fair game.

However while the series is level again, there are still areas of concern (and for both sides). That is what a 5 test series allows and we can be thankful for that.

That Indian order will likely get a reboot. And surely Jadeja and Shami are going to be included at some stage now. Being fresh late by Test 4/5 would enhance you'd believe.

Ravi Jadeja averages 43 with the bat and 21 with the ball in Australia while Mohammed Shami is a constant threat. He'd have loved the day night set up.

As for the locals, a win is a win but question marks abound. Khawaja is yet to excite and Smith is finding weird ways to get out now. Then again not as weird as Mitch Marsh who thought he'd knicked one, walked, so the umpire then gave him, then as he scowls the dressing room, finds out he'd missed it by two inches.

At the very least Labuschagne got some centre wicket time hitting the ball more than leaving it. McSweeney battled bravely enough when the conditions were tough.

In terms of actual performance, Nathan Lyon spent more time at the crease with the bat than rolling his arm over. Longer term, that actually may help him in a long series.

1988 was a long time ago but from that mauling by the Windies at the hands of messrs Ambrose and Marshall, Australia did not lose again at the Woolloongabba until the last time India was here in an amazing upset.

Stricken with a side that had no Kohli or Bumrah and the home squad intact, they ran down 328 with Rishabh at his commanding best.

Mention of this is to indicate that Brisbane should not scare India again this time. We've seen some interesting decks there of late. South Africa was a two day test in 2022 and even then, Australia lost 4 wickets chasing 35.

Then at the start of this year it was the Shamar Joseph show as he fought off whatever ailed him to knock over seven poles. He looked a wounded buffalo but ended a roaring lion.

When you have the premier fast bowler in the world, the Gabba is not the horror show it once was for foreign teams and certainly not the fortress it had become.

If there is the added bounce that has been Brisbane for several years, we should see another result so there is no hiding for all those with the willow.

If Test 1 to Test 2 could see such a turn of result, Test 2 to Test 3 could just as easily switch again. Wonder if India might try and play from the front by winning the toss and bowling and put the home side under pressure?

One of the real outcomes for Australia in Adelaide was that Pat Cummins looked like the extra work had benefitted him greatly through the two weeks between games.

He was bouncing at the crease and hitting high on the bat. He also castled Rohit with a Joe Root style clinker. He's on the rebound.

Add that to the fact he takes his wickets at 18 in Brisbane and in 5 of his 7 tests there, he's taken 5 or more in the entire game. Watch for the Skipper to keep lifting the bar.

If Captain Pat does fire up it might mean it goes shorter than the allotted time. But that should mean entertaining and positive cricket. Remember – a fast game is a good game!