Game abandoned in third Test in Brisbane with Australia 28–0

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UPDATES at the end of the game

Play was abandoned on the first day of the third Test between Australia and India at the Gabba in Brisbane after rain fell for most of Saturday.

Australia ended the day on 28-0 with Usman Khawaja 19 not out and Nathan McSweeney on four after India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field.

Only 13.2 overs were bowled during the first session and no more was played, much to the disappointment of the large crowd that had turned up at the Gabba.

At one point, the outfield looked like a lake, but as the weather cleared, the water quickly drained away, leaving only a few small areas still affected.

However, the rain continued throughout the day and the umpires eventually called off play midway through the final session.

Play will begin 30 minutes earlier for the remaining four days with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled each day.

But while the weather forecast is better for Sunday, more rain is predicted for early next week.

After a week of rain in Brisbane, Rohit would have expected plenty of movement from his opening bowlers, but they struggled to find their length.

Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah made an early appearance on the pace and Mohammed Siraj was equally unthreatening.

The expected rain didn’t arrive until 25 minutes into today’s play, causing a half-hour delay, and when the players returned, Akash Deep finally found the perfect length with movement in the air and outside the wicket.

He particularly bothered McSweeney, but 35 minutes later much heavier rain sent the players off the pitch for the second time.

The five-match series is level with India thrashing Australia in the first Test in Perth and Australia recording an equally impressive win in Adelaide.

As expected, the Australians brought back Josh Hazlewood for Scott Boland after he recovered from a side strain.

India dropped spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast bowler Harshit Rana and replaced them with Ravindra Jadeja and Deep.