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The inclement weather has seemingly sent Kabira Namit into a coin toss based paranoia:
“Has anyone considered sending Indian captains to remedial coin-tossing classes? Asking for a nation that’s apparently forgotten what winning a toss looks like in 2025. Between Harman’s World Cup tosses (lost all but one, if memory serves), the England Test series (clean sweep for Stokes and Pope at the toss), and now this T20 series, I’m beginning to think we’ve accidentally angered the toss gods.
Or perhaps we’re conducting a lengthy scientific experiment on whether it’s possible to win matches despite never getting first choice? Would genuinely love to know the actual percentage of tosses India has lost this year (partly for statistical purposes) but mostly to confirm whether my growing paranoia is justified.”
Rain (and lightning) stops play
There are forks of lightning flashing the skies around the Gabba and the umpires have seen enough, just as the players are sent from the middle the rain starts too.
The scoreboard is now lit up with a severe weather warning and the fans in the lower stands are being cleared as a precaution. I fear this could be a long old delay folks.
4th over: India 47-0 (Abishek Sharma 20, Gill 27) Another chance goes begging! Dwarshuis is the guilty fielder this time, no doubt a bit rattled after being out to the sword by Gill in the previous over, he runs in from fine leg but never looked confident and the ball fell through his fingers. Sharma survives once more and celebrates by slamming a SIX over midwicket.
3rd over: India 35-0 (Abishek Sharma 9, Gill 26) Shubman Gill is ticking! He takes Dwarshuis for four boundaries off the over, he uses his feet to dance down and clip through midwicket, drive through cover, cut through point and pull through square. Fair to say he’s seeing it big.
2nd over: India 19-0 (Abishek Sharma 6, Gill 10) Xavier Bartlett shares the new ball, Gill greets him with a flat batted crack through extra cover. Shades of Virat in that one.
1st over: India 11-0 (Abishek Sharma 6, Gill 5) Ben Dwarshuis starts with the new white ball under beaming Brisbane floodlights. There’s big swing out there but Sharma isn’t too fussed, he makes room and slaps a boundary over mid off! DROP! Glenn Maxwell spills a tricky chance pedalling backwards at at mid off! Tricky chance but Maxwell will be gutted to spill that one. Salt meet wound. Shubman clips the next ball through midwicket for four.
Radar not looking too clever but Mitch Marsh and his men take the field.
We’ll be underway shortly weather permitting… in the meantime and aptly enough given his surname - there’s just enough time to dig into this piece with Jake Weatherald.
Teams: Australia are unchanged, for India - Rinku Singh comes in for Varma.
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (c), 4 Rinku Singh, 5 Axar Patel, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Mitchell Marsh (c), 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Tim David, 5 Josh Philippe, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Xavier Bartlett, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Adam Zampa
Australia win the toss and choose to bowl first
“Looks a good surface, great to come in on this great ground.” says Aussie Skipper Mitchell Marsh. “It’s not exactly the same as the final of a tournament but there’s lots to play for, we can level the series and its a last chance for us tonight.”
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the fifth and final T20I between Australia and India from Brisbane’s Gabba. The home side are looking to draw the series after being befuddled and bamboozled by India’s spin attack in the previous couple of matches at Hobart and Carrara.
The Gabba pitch might not be quite as conducive to the twirlers but the more pressing issues is the fact there are storms forecast in the area, fingers crossed we can get a full game in. It is fine at the moment and the two captains are headed out for the toss…
Barring any wet stuff we should be underway in about fifteen minutes – 6.15pm local/7.15pm AEDT/1.45pm IDT and 8.15am here in dear old England.
