India's bowlers were left frustrated and wicketless as rain wiped out most of the opening day's play in the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
Australia were 28 for no loss when play was abandoned, with Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 19 and Nathan McSweeney four not out after facing only 13.2 overs at a rain-sodden Gabba.
India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first but his hope of early wickets proved forlorn, rain halting play in the sixth over for about 30 minutes and dashing his pace bowlers' hopes of finding their rhythm.
The rain returned to bring an early lunch and persisted until play was abandoned late in the afternoon, short-changing a crowd of 30,145.
The Gabba pitch had a green tinge on what had been a steamy, overcast morning, promising a stiff examination for Australia's top order, but the ball ultimately did little off the spongy pitch.
Barring a probing, opening burst by Jasprit Bumrah, who repeatedly beat Khawaja's bat, the Indian pacers were culpable of bowling too short.
Khawaja capitalised, smashing Mohammed Siraj to the fence with a couple of sweetly struck pull shots but the weather denied a healthy crowd more action.
With the five-Test series poised at 1-1, India made two changes to the side that lost by 10 wickets in the day-night test in Adelaide – Ravindra Jadeja replacing spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Akash Deep coming in for struggling paceman Harshit Rana.
Australia made only one change, with quick Josh Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland after recovering from a side injury.
Rohit, whose poor form with the bat has heaped pressure on his captaincy, will continue to bat at number six, with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal retained as the opening combination.
"There's a lot of grass and it looks a little soft as well so we want to try and make the best use of the conditions and try and see what we can do with the ball up front," Rohit had said after winning the toss, adding that the mood in the Indian dressing room was "absolutely buzzing".
"The guys are looking forward to the Test match. It's been always nice to come here and play some really good cricket and, yeah, when you talk about how everyone's feeling, they want to come out here and showcase themselves."
As it was, India will have to wait until day two to show their skills and may need early wickets to force a third consecutive result in the series.
Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
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