Border Gavaskar Trophy: When will the India vs Australia 3rd Test start? Check Gabba weather forecast

The thrill and excitement for the third India vs Australia Test have been dampened by incessant rain at the Gabba. At the conclusion of the first two contests, India and Australia are level at 1-1 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, marking the Gabba Test as a crucial match. However, the forecast had already indicated the anticipated disturbance by the clouds during the clash. Now, as it turns out, the forecast has come true, with the clouds not just hampering but threatening to wash out Day 1 of the third BGT Test in Brisbane. What started as a drizzle well before lunch on Saturday has transformed into lashing rain as the Gabba reels under drenched outfields. With no sign of the game continuing anytime soon, tea is impending, and the entire second session has been drowned by the downpour in Brisbane.

Tea has been taken here at The Gabba.

And the waiting game continues.

The umpires will undertake an inspection shortly. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/JW3ZVTsG28

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 14, 2024

Border Gavaskar Trophy: Day 1 of the Gabba Test washed out

The third match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy commenced as scheduled on 14 December at 5:20 IST in Brisbane. Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Aussies at the Gabba. India took the field with two changes in the Playing XI as Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep came in for Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshit Rana respectively. Australia, meanwhile, replaced Scott Boland with Josh Hazlewood. 

Jasprit Bumrah started the attack for India against Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja at the green turf of the Gabba. However, the game was interrupted by a drizzle in the sixth over of the opening innings. While the first interruption lasted just 15 minutes, the next downpour has now extended till the Tea. With just 13 overs bowled on Day 1 of the third BGT Test, the match was stalled due to rain as Australia sat at the score of 28 with no loss of wickets.

The covers came in at 7:20 IST and stayed long enough for the teams to opt for lunch. But the span didn't seem long enough for the angry clouds at the Gabba as the downpour has now continued till the Tea. With the outfields of Gabba completely soaked under the rain, it seems like a far fetched dream for the game to continue on Day 1 of the Test.

India favors Ravindra Jadeja over an extra pace option for the Gabba Test

Even after persisting through Lunch and Tea, the rain at the Gabba didn't relent, forcing the officials to call stumps on Day 1 of the Gabba Test. The day's play concluded with just 13.2 overs bowled in the first session, during which the Australian openers managed 28 runs. Surprisingly, the lively pitch prepared at the Gabba didn't seem to trouble the batters significantly at the start of the game.

A rain-affected Day 1 at the Gabba ends with just 13.2 overs bowled before stumps were called.#WTC25 | 📝 #AUSvIND: https://t.co/atwLP6wR3l pic.twitter.com/IQhF7CiHvp

— ICC (@ICC) December 14, 2024

In the limited overs bowled on the opening day, India tried Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, who is playing his first match Down Under, along with Bumrah. However, none of the Indian pacers managed to claim an early breakthrough for the team. Moreover, with Ravindra Jadeja joining the India Playing XI in Brisbane, the team has opted to add depth to the batting order instead of selecting an extra seam prospect, paying no heed to the chatter aroung the bouncy turf ahead of the start of the Test.

India's fourth bowling option is the young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has performed exceptionally well with the bat so far in the series. However, it remains to be seen if Reddy can extract some crucial breakthroughs at the Gabba, that is, if the rain allows the match to resume on time on Day 2.