Australia’s openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney were unseparated through the stop-start beginning to the Brisbane Test which saw only 13.2 overs bowled in the opening session interspersed by two rain breaks.

India won a third toss on the bounce in the series, but this time, under overcast conditions, Rohit Sharma opted to bowl having rung two changes to the playing XI from Adelaide. Akash Deep, one of the two players (Ravindrra Jadeda was the other) drafted in, had to wait for his turn to get into the contest as the senior pros Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj went searching for the right lengths on the Gabba surface with a smattering of grass over.

Interestingly, there was not much swing or seam movement to be had in the early exchanges and Khawaja, in particular, was comfortable in putting away deliveries that were either too short or too straight. While Bumrah beat the left-hander on a couple of occasions, only 1 of the first 33 balls bowled by India were projected to hit the stumps. The curious pattern to the play also saw Bumrah bowl just three deliveries at McSweeney over his six-over first spell.

Deep came on as first change soon after the first rain break and enjoyed a sprightly start to proceedings. But just as India appeared to be finding their rhythm, the players were forced off once more by a torrential downpour.