Of all the challenges that India have encountered in their tour of Australia this time, the toughest perhaps awaits them at the Gabba on Tuesday, the last day of the fourth and final Test of the series.

Around 24 overs were lost on the penultimate day as rain again forced early stumps. Set a difficult target of 328, India faced just 1.5 overs and were four without loss when the weather forced an early closure. While India still have 10 wickets at their disposal, retaining them on a fifth-day pitch that already sports a few cracks would be a tall task. India can also aim for a win, but that would be an outrageous attempt.

However, with there being forecasts of rain and thunderstorms in Brisbane again on Tuesday, India might just be able to force a draw and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy if they bat sensibly. The series is tied 1-1 at present.

But the big question that has already triggered debates is whether Australia, all
out for 294 in their second innings, should have declared early looking at the overhead conditions if they wanted to force a win. Many believe that is what Australia of old would have done.

So why couldn’t they be brave enough and declare early? Was it because of the fear of an audacious Indian onslaught? Like the counter-attacking knock that Rishabh Pant played at the SCG? That could well have been on the minds of Tim Paine and Justin Langer.

Even when Australia were nine down, the hosts’ urgency to take the field wasn’t quite noticed. The overcast conditions were ideal for the
home quicks to have a go at the Indians.

The Indian camp is confident though. “When they resume bowling (on Tuesday), there will obviously be some confusion. It will play in the minds of the batsmen that there are cracks on the pitch, but our batters are prepared for this,” pacer Mohammed Siraj, who recorded his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests, said at the virtual media conference later in the day.

“We will see how the pitch behaves and then decide on our approach. Our aim is to win the series, especially after the fight we’ve been able to put up in spite of so many injuries,” Siraj said.

One indication of the cracks playing a role was the dismissal of Steve Smith, who was taken aback by the awkward bounce from a Siraj delivery that landed in one of the cracks. After tea, Siraj landed another one on a similar region outside the off-stump, which jagged back into Pat Cummins and hit his right elbow.

Siraj’s favourite
Of the five wickets he picked up for the first time so far in his international career, Siraj savours the wicket of Smith most, followed by that of Marnus Labuschagne.
“Looking at the entire series, I feel the wicket of Smith is the one I cherish. There was extra bounce from that area, I thought landing the ball there would get me the wicket.
“He is one of the best batsmen in the world and dismissing him gave me a lot of confidence. Also, the wicket of Marnus was something I enjoyed, as it further boosted my confidence,” Siraj said.