Gabba comes alight as fans revel on action packed day two
After losing nearly the whole first day to rain, fans made up for lost time on day two with the Gabba rocking on an eventful day.
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After a disastrous first day washout, cricket fans packed into the Gabba to make the most of humid but dry conditions to soak up a historic day’s play both on and off the field.
In the middle, Steve Smith scored his 33rd century and surpassed Steve Waugh as Australia’s second greatest century maker, and Travis Head scored his second Test century at the Gabba.
Off the field, uncertainty lingers around the stadium’s future, with Cricket Australia pushing to ditch it as a Test venue and replace it with a new stadium within 2032 Olympic plans.
The Gabba is scheduled to host an Ashes Test next year but beyond that, and for the first time in 50 years, it will not host a Test match in 2026/27 due to Olympic uncertainty.
With so much still up in the air, this could be one of the last Test matches Brisbane hosts at the iconic Gabba venue, and potentially the final India-Australia clash.
This would be sad for the game given the incredible travelling support at the Gabba on Sunday, it was 50-50 as to whether there were more Indians or Australians in the stands.
One contest which the Indians comfortably won was the number of fans wearing their team’s colours, with a sea of blue Indian team shirts, or green, white and orange Indian flags.
Elsewhere, there were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle outfits, an army of Despicable Me minions, Super Mario characters, and green and gold party shirts aplenty.
Arguably, the pinnacle of the fanatical fans was the Indian Bharat Army, led by official drummer Devanesan Arokiyadoss, who travelled from Adelaide.
“All the days, all the Tests, all over Australia, I’ll be there,” he vowed.
Mr Arokiyadoss said he, and Indians more broadly, had fond memories of the Gabba.
“In the last series [in January 2021] we won the game here and actually won the series here, so it’s a really memorable and important venue for Indians,” he said.
“I’m well connected to the Gabba … I feel like we want to keep this stadium, the traditional value is there for the people.”
For The Richies – travelling Australian fans who dress up in memory of former player and commentator Richie Benaud – Brisbane is one of their heartlands.
“Brissie is our second home, it has our second strongest Richie following,” Sydneysider and The Richies co-founder Michael Hennessy said.
“Only yesterday [Saturday] was the [64th] anniversary of The Tied Test which Richie captained against Sir Frank Worrell [of the West Indies], so I think Brisbane held a special place in Richie’s heart and his history and legacy.”
The Richies attend day two of Test matches, or as they call it “Day Choo” – paying tribute to Benaud’s famous pronunciation.
On the Gabba’s future, Mr Hennessy said regardless of the decision, certainty is needed.
“I think number one they need to create certainty, that’s the key … Brisbane is going to be remembered globally for these Olympics, so you need to put your best foot forward,” he said.
“Perth went from the WACA to Perth Stadium and that was an amazing Test this year, so there’s always an evolution, and you can take some of that [cricket history] DNA to a new venue wherever that may be, so it is possible to create a new home of cricket in Brisbane.”
After torrential rain and flash flooding forced the first day to be abandoned after less than 15 overs, the idea was floated of a new stadium with a retractable roof.
But Queensland Cricket chief executive Terry Svenson put it bluntly: “A roof is not part of our thinking or plans.”
Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj firmly remains public enemy number one this series, after giving Travis Head an aggressive send-off when dismissing him in Adelaide.
The Gabba crowd made their feelings clear – booing Siraj whenever he came on to bowl, and jeering when Siraj bowled a loose ball that went for five wides down the leg side.
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