Rain ends second day’s play with final Australia-India Test in the balance

The deciding fourth Test between Australia and India in Brisbane hung in the balance Saturday after a massive thunderstorm caused play to be abandoned following the tea break on the second day.

The Gabba was saturated during the storm, which began during the tea break, and while the ground drained quickly, the umpires decided the outfield was too wet to allow play to continue.

India will resume on Sunday at 62 for two, 307 runs behind Australia’s first innings total of 369, with Cheteshwar Pujara on eight alongside skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who was on two.

Australia had earlier claimed the vital wicket of Rohit Sharma 20 minutes before tea to seize the momentum.

Sharma had been in full flow, striking 44 stylish runs from 74 deliveries with six boundaries.

But with the score on 60 for the loss of opener Shubman Gill (7), Sharma threw his wicket away when he charged off-spinner Nathan Lyon, only managing to sky a ball to Mitchell Starc at deep mid-on.

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Pat Cummins had made the early breakthrough for the hosts when Gill got a thick edge and Steve Smith took a sharp catch at second slip.

After resuming at 274 for five on Saturday morning, Australian lost five wickets in the first session including the overnight batsmen Tim Paine and Cameron Green.

Paine and Green had started aggressively on a flat batting wicket and looked to push the score beyond 400.

But shortly after reaching his half-century, Paine chased a wide ball from Shardul Thakur (3-94) and edged to Sharma at third slip to leave Australia 311 for six.

Green survived a sharp chance on 45 off Washington Sundar but two runs later, the off-spinner got his revenge when he bowled the Australian number six for 47.

Thakur, playing only his second Test, took his third wicket when he trapped Cummins leg-before for two to leave the hosts struggling at 315 for seven.

However, Lyon and Starc went on the attack and the score raced to 354 before Sundar bowled Lyon around his legs after his quickfire 24 off 22 deliveries.

When T. Natarajan bowled Josh Hazlewood to end the innings, the inexperienced Indian attack had completed an impressive comeback on a hot and humid Brisbane morning.

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Australia will be disappointed with their total considering the benign nature of the wicket.

While many of the Australian batsmen got starts, only Marnus Labuschagne was able to convert, his 108 on Friday the standout for the home team.

The Indian attack features two players making their debut – Natarajan (3-78) and Sundar (3-89) – while their most experienced bowler, Mohammad Siraj, is playing just his third Test following a raft of injures to their first-choice bowlers.

To compound their problems, Navdeep Saini was only able to bowl 7.5 overs on the first day before he broke down with a groin injury.

However, they bowled with discipline and were helped by some injudicious shot selection by their opponents.

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