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Australia’s assistant coach Daniel Vettori said that the rain at Gabba stadium during the third Test match against India helped Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to be able to come back on multiple occasions after day 4 ended.
The rain played spoilsport at Gabba where most of the second session of Day 4 was halted due to rain.
"I think the weather allowed us to operate in terms of the breaks, it allowed Mitch (Starc) and Pat (Cummins) to be able to come back on multiple occasions, whereas if we had played out the full 90 overs, it would have been tougher” Vettori told media after Day 4.
Vettori added that first innings runs were crucial while the weather can still affect strategies.
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“The first innings runs were going to be vitally important and you don’t really want to plan for the weather. The conversation was mainly around making the most of the first and then trusting a very good bowling unit to deliver on this pitch. Unfortunately, the amount of time lost in this game has made it difficult” added Vettori.
Vettori also revealed that Josh Hazlewood who got out of the whole Border-Gavaskar Trophy got injured during Australia's warm-up session before the clash.
“He is pretty despondent. Obviously he fell this morning in warm-ups. It’s just unfortunate for him to come back after another injury from the first Test and then to pick up a calf injury here" Vettori also said.
Vettori also reckoned that Akash Deep who batted alongside Jasprit Bumrah to prevent follow-on during the third Test match is better than playing on number 11.
“Any batter on any given day can step up and deliver. If you look at their averages, you might think there’s not much there. But Bumrah has proven that he can put on partnerships, can attack and can defend. I think Akash is better than the number 11” added Vettori.
Coming back to the match, half-centuries from KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Indian bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep's defence helped India prevent a follow-on against Australia as a rain-affected day four at Brisbane.
Brief Scores: India: 252/9 (KL Rahul 84, Ravindra Jadeja 77, Pat Cummins 4/80) vs Australia: 445/10 (Travis Head: 152, Steve Smith: 101, Jasprit Bumrah: 6/76).
