India avoids follow on late on day four, frustrating Australia’s bid for Gabba Test victory

Australia’s hopes of victory in the Gabba Test rest on a day five miracle after being thwarted by a familiar nemesis, India’s tail and Queensland’s fickle weather on Tuesday.

Australia must likely lick its wounds after India’s defiant tailenders all but ensured the Pat Cummins’ men would head to the MCG with the Test series level at 1-1 and without the injured and “despondent” Josh Hazlewood.

On yet another stop-start day at the Gabba, Steve Smith’s early spill of KL Rahul proved costly as India weathered the storms – literal and metaphoric – to creep inside the target and avoid the follow-on.

With more rain forecast on Wednesday, day five is likely to peter out after Australia’s depleted attack was unable to make the final inroad that would have set up a grandstand finish.

India finished day four at 9-252 in its first innings in response to the Aussies’ 445.

“I think the only way to force the game was to enforce the follow-on. There was a desperation to get that final wicket,” Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori said.

Recap all the key moments in our blog below

With Hazlewood ruled out of the match and in all likelihood the series after straining his calf in the warm-up on Tuesday, the Aussies effectively relied on just three bowlers to stem the Indian resistance.

Skipper Cummins was lion-hearted, finishing with 4-80 but despite a string of near misses could not interrupt an unbeaten 39-run stand from India’s 10th wicket pairing of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep.

India still needed another 33 runs to avoid the follow-on when Deep joined Bumrah however none of Cummins, Mitchell Starc nor Nathan Lyon were able to make the critical final breakthrough.

In what proved to be the day’s final over before bad light stopped play, Deep flashed over Nathan McSweeney at gully, the ball racing away for four to all but end Australia’s hopes of winning the Test.

Despite being cleared to bowl freely ahead of the Test, Mitch Marsh sent down just two overs, meaning Cummins, Starc and Lyon had to do it themselves.

Cricket Australia stressed that Hazlewood been cleared to play after recovering from the side strain that left him out of the Adelaide Test and that this right calf complaint flared up before play on Tuesday.

Hazlewood started the day off the field before returning to bowl for one over. Clearly still troubled, he left again and was sent for scans, cutting a dejected figure when spotted as he left an imaging facility shortly before CA confirmed the severity of the injury.

Josh Hazlewood’s injury has left Australia short on manpower.

“He’s pretty despondent,” Vettori said.

“Obviously he felt it this morning in warm-ups and gave it a good crack but it’s just unfortunate for him to I suppose come back, put so much effort in after another injury with the side strain from the last Test and then to pick up a calf injury here, particularly in these circumstances, is really tough on him.”

However Vettori insisted that Marsh was fine and that the interruptions of the day had meant that the three frontline bowlers could operate almost exclusively.

“He’s good to go. There’s no issues around his fitness,” Vettori said.

Yet for all of Australia’s control of this Test, it will take a miracle for the Aussies to manufacture a win, meaning the series will almost certainly be tied head to Boxing Day. The Aussies need an outright series win to wrest back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Scott Boland shapes as a likely inclusion for his home Test after injury struck Hazlewood for the second time this series.

“I think that would be the logical thing to conclude,” Vettori said of Boland’s Boxing Day chances.

Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott are both in the frame to return to the squad as further pace cover after being called up for the second Test.

The job on Tuesday would have been considerably more doable had Smith not grassed a regulation chance at second slip off the first ball of the day with Rahul on 33 from Cummins’ bowling.

Smith eventually took a blinder at slip off Nathan Lyon to remove Rahul for 84 but much of the damage had been done.

Ravindra Jadeja’s 77 was the other major thorn in Australia’s side in an innings that led to questions about why he had been left out of the first two Tests of the series.

Ravi Jadeja haunted Australia again.

Jadeja eventually fell after Marsh took an excellent catch in the deep, but it would Deep of another kind who would prove Australia’s eventual undoing.

Cummins also snared struggling Indian skipper Rohit Sharma who edged to Alex Carey for 10.