Ravindra Jadeja returns as India opt to bowl first at The Gabba

It has been quite a short turnaround since the second Test in Adelaide, but it brings us to where it all culminated for India in the 2021/22 tour: The Gabba. In the past, it has been Australia’s fortress, but ever since India breached it, it has been rather fragile. West Indies bagged a win at the venue earlier in the year. 

“Toota hai Gabba ka ghamand” will still echo around in the heads of every Indian fan.

But all of that could be in the past if they don’t get their act together. It was evident that India struggled to cope with the challenge posed by the pink ball in Adelaide. A new day, a new beginning for India? 

For the third time in the series, Rohit Sharma has won the toss, and India will bowl first here at The Gabba. The conditions are overcast, and there will be more rain, so India would want to chip away at the clash as soon as possible. 

Did you know? The last time India chose to field after winning the toss in an overseas Test was against New Zealand in Wellington in 2014.

Hear from the two captains

Pat Cummins: We would've bowled first, too. It's been a fantastic series so far. I'm really happy with last week. Just about everyone got into the series, so it's been a good lead-up. Preparations have been pretty good. The early finish in Adelaide allowed us to come up here early and get settled. Just one change: Scott Boland is out for Hazlewood.

Rohit Sharma: We're going to bowl first. It is a little bit overcast, has a little bit of grass, and looks a bit soft as well, we want to make the best use of the conditions. A lot of cricket to be played; both teams have played good cricket in the last two games. Big game for us here, we'll do what is expected. We'll play good cricket, we understand we have to capture some moments, we didn't do that in the previous game, which is why we lost. It's absolutely buzzing, the guys are looking forward to the match, we're looking forward to coming out here and playing. It looks a little soft at this point in time; conditions are a bit overcast as well, but it will get better to bat as it goes on. We've made two changes, Jadeja and Akash back in place of Ashwin and Harshit.

So, what’s the playing XIs?

On the other end, Australia have just made one change: Josh Hazlewood returns at the expense of Scott Boland

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

On expected lines, India have made some changes: Ravindra Jadeja replaces Ravichandran Ashwin, and Akash Deep has also come in to replace Harshit Rana

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

What are the conditions like?

Openers Matthew Hayden and Sunil Gavaskar have made it clear as daylight that batting will be a tough and gritty task early on here in Brisbane. India have Jasprit Bumrah to exploit these conditions so that gritty task almost becomes a nightmare for the two Australian openers. 

"The overhead conditions are challenging, it's been wet going into the game. Cloudy conditions, there'll be plenty of assistance for the pacers, movement off the pitch, plenty of carry and batting shouldn't be easy. You need to respect the bowlers in the first two hours and then there are runs on this surface. Going further, spin will play a role going into the 4th and 5th days, it's a bowl first pitch," they say.

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