Cricket is a funny game, honestly. One minute you're convinced a team is dead and buried, and the next, a tropical storm and a gritty tail-end partnership turn everything on its head. That is exactly what we saw during the india australia 3rd test match at Brisbane. If you were looking for a repeat of the "Gabba Magic" from 2021, you kinda got it, but in a much more chaotic, rain-drenched package.
The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was already on a knife-edge. India had stunned everyone by winning in Perth, but Australia roared back in Adelaide. By the time the teams landed in Brisbane for this third match, the tension was thick enough to cut with a bat. Most people expected the bouncy Gabba track to hand the advantage back to Pat Cummins and his crew. For three days, it looked like that was exactly what was happening.
Australia put up a massive 445 in their first innings. Travis Head was the absolute star, smashing 152 off just 160 balls. It was vintage Head—fearless, slightly reckless, and completely demoralizing for the bowlers. Honestly, without Jasprit Bumrah, India would have been chasing 600. Bumrah was a titan, taking 6/76 and basically holding the bowling attack together with his bare hands.
The Collapse Nobody Saw Coming (But Everyone Feared)
When India started their first innings, things went south. Fast. Yashasvi Jaiswal was gone for 4. Shubman Gill followed for 1. Even Virat Kohli couldn't steady the ship, falling for 3. At one point, India was 22/3 and then 44/4. It was ugly. You've probably seen those scorecards before where the top order looks like a phone number. This was one of those.
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja tried to fight back. Rahul’s 84 was arguably one of his most disciplined knocks in years, even if it lacked the usual flair. Jadeja chipped in with 77. But even with their help, India was still staring at a massive deficit. They were eventually bowled out for 260. Pat Cummins led from the front with 4/81, proving why he’s still the gold standard for modern fast bowling.
The most surprising part? The tail. Akash Deep and Bumrah added 47 runs for the last wicket. It doesn't sound like much, but in the context of the india australia 3rd test match, it was everything. Those runs helped India avoid the follow-on. Without that partnership, Australia could have made India bat again immediately, and with the way the top order was crumbling, the match might have ended two days early.
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Brisbane Weather and the Chaos of Day Five
Weather forecasts in Brisbane are notoriously moody. On Day 5, the sky looked like something out of an apocalypse movie. Australia wanted to set a target quickly, so they went into T20 mode. It was a gamble. They lost 7 wickets for just 89 runs because they were trying to slog every second ball. Bumrah and Akash Deep were licking their lips, picking up wickets as the Aussies threw caution to the wind.
When Cummins finally declared, India was set a target of 275. With about 54 overs left in the day, it was technically possible, but the pitch was doing all sorts of tricks.
- The Target: 275 runs.
- The Time: Roughly two sessions.
- The Result: A frustrating, rain-shortened draw.
India managed to get to 8/0 in just 2.1 overs before the heavens opened. The light faded, the clouds dumped a month's worth of rain in an hour, and that was it. The umpires called it. Match drawn.
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Why This Draw Felt Like an Indian Victory
If you ask an Australian fan, they'll tell you the rain robbed them. If you ask an Indian fan, they'll say the fightback from the tail was the real story. Honestly, both are right. But for India, escaping the Gabba with a draw after being bowled out for 260 in the first innings was a massive psychological win. It kept the series leveled at 1-1 heading into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
It’s also where we saw the end of an era. Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the greatest to ever do it, was seen sharing a very emotional hug with Virat Kohli in the dressing room. Reports confirmed it—this was Ashwin's final Test match. Seeing him go out at the Gabba, a ground where India has so much recent history, felt poetic.
Real Talk: What This Means for Your Cricket Knowledge
If you're following the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, this draw was a bit of a disaster for India’s hopes of reaching the final at Lord's. To qualify comfortably, they really needed a win here. By settling for a draw, the pressure on the remaining matches in Melbourne and Sydney became immense.
Australia, on the other hand, showed they have the firepower to blow India away, but their aggressive declaration in the second innings was a rare tactical slip-up by Cummins. They let India off the hook.
Key Takeaways from the India Australia 3rd Test Match
- Don't underestimate the tail: The 47-run stand between Akash Deep and Bumrah saved the match for India.
- Travis Head is a Gabba specialist: His 152 was the difference between a competitive total and a dominant one.
- Bumrah's workload is a concern: He bowled 28 overs in the first innings and still had to come back and lead the charge in the second.
- Watch the weather: In Brisbane, the "radar" is your best friend.
If you're looking to understand the nuances of the india australia 3rd test match, pay attention to the bowling lengths. India struggled when they bowled too full on Day 1, but by Day 5, they had adjusted. They started hitting that "good" length that makes the Gabba bounce so uncomfortable.
To really get ahead of the curve for the next match, keep an eye on the injury reports for the Australian pacers. Josh Hazlewood's calf injury during this game was a massive blow, and it forced Australia to look toward Scott Boland for the MCG. For India, the focus has to be on the top-order consistency. You can't keep relying on the bowlers to score the runs.
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Check the official ICC or Cricket Australia scorecards for the specific ball-by-ball breakdown of that final hour—it was some of the most intense, if brief, cricket played all summer.