Australia vs India Third Test, Talking Points on Day 1, Rain in Brisbane, Rohit Sharma Toss, Video, Highlights

Heavy rain in Brisbane ruined day one of the third Test between Australia and India at the Gabba, with players enduring 13.2 overs before the weather intervened in the Queensland capital.

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After Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first, the Australians are 0-28 at stumps on day one, with opener Usman Khawaja (19*) and Nathan McSweeney (4*) from being undefeated from one day to the next.

GOOD TO LOSE: SHARMA FALLS INTO THE COMMON TRAP

With every point Australia scored on Saturday, Nasser Hussain's name popped up more often in the Gabba press box.

The numbers suggest batting is easiest on the first day at the Brisbane venue, but when Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss, the team's third consecutive correct call in the series, he opted to bowl a trap first which many touring captains have fallen into. Gabba.

The sky was gray and the field had a healthy layer of grass. It was nothing like the green mamba that terrorized South Africa two years ago, but Sharma was eager to unleash Jasprit Bumrah with the fresh Kookaburra while it was cloudy.

History was against the Indians. Australia had not lost a Test match at the Gabba after airing since 1985, with six wins and three draws in that period. However, this Indian team has defied history time and time again, most notably at the same venue four summers ago.

The weather gods seemed to mock Sharma as the clouds parted during the national anthems, with the sun's rays baking the pitch just as play got underway on Saturday morning.

And when Australian opener Usman Khawaja hit a couple of pull shots through mid-wicket, Sharma's decision also came into the spotlight.

Good to lose, said former Australian all-rounder Brendon Julian on Fox Cricket commentary.

I think there was a lot of rain leading up to this test and when the players came out for their practice sessions they looked at it and it was green.

But this morning I didn't think it was a first bowl throw.

Former Test spinner Kerry OKeeffe continued: You are batting at the Gabba.

When you face Australia you want them to finish second and fourth.

After a few overs it became clear that there were no gremlins on the pitch, with India's quick movements not helping matters by bowling a yard short in the morning session. Just four deliveries across the first 13 overs would have hit the stumps, with opener Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney happily sailing the Kookaburra harmlessly towards the wicketkeeper.

For the first time in the series, Australia survived Bumrah's opening spell without suffering any casualties.

No wickets in 13 overs is hardly disaster territory for India, but Sharma will pray that there is no repeat of Hussein's infamous call from 22 years ago.

QUEENSLAND CRICKET SUPPORTS GABBA PROPOSAL

Cricket Queensland and the Brisbane Lions are convinced they have outgrown their home at the Gabba and are firmly behind a proposal to build a new oval stadium in Brisbane.

Cricket's return to the Gabba for the third Test has reignited the debate over what the future holds for the aging stadium ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

With a new state government elected in October, a new review, expected to last 100 days, is underway into the prospect of building a new stadium at Victoria Park.

What that means for the historic site remains to be seen, but at least two reviews, including an extensive one from former Brisbane mayor Graham Quirk, have shown the aging venue will be obsolete by the end of this decade.

Cricket Australia is firmly pushing for a new stadium and so is Cricket Queensland, as CEO Terry Svenson said on Saturday during a lengthy rain delay.

What we are saying is that there is an opportunity with the arrival of the Olympic Games, Svenson said ABC Stand.

It would be home to both cricket and the AFL (and) the Olympic Games (could) come and use our Victoria Park facility in the two to four weeks that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place.

But I think what we're doing is saying that this place is aging, that it's usable for life until 2030, and we have to decide where to go, and we think the best option is to build a new house build. and we will take some great partners with us to a new home.

Both Cricket Queensland and the Brisbane Lions will meet with those conducting the final review next week to press their case.

Lions chief executive Greg Swann said the reigning premiers were outgrowing the Gabba and said he believes the club will have up to 80,000 members in the coming years.

But he said there are a number of reasons why a new stadium should be the priority.

It is old and needs to be renovated, but it is still difficult. For those who don't live in Brisbane, it's between four main roads, so it's really hard to do anything with it because it's almost landlocked, Swann said.

I think the biggest problem for both of us, especially for us, is the displacement problem. Our membership and the growth of the code, we're constantly selling out here, and the city itself is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

We saw Adelaide Oval and what it did for Adelaide. We saw Optus Stadium and what it did for Perth. It's funny because the politics around it is that no one wants to build a new stadium. Even in those cities, no one wanted to build a new stadium. When you do tourism now and see Adelaide and Perth, the emphasis is mainly on the new stadiums.

We've been here for 30 years, so we grew up here, but we need a bigger house because we have more fans. We need to build the capacity and that's what we think Victoria Park is doing for us.

Svenson, who met with new ICC chairman Jay Shah in Brisbane on Saturday with a view to cricket being part of the 2032 Olympics, acknowledged that CQ and the Lions initially supported a renewal of the Gabba.

But once the Victoria Park option was mooted, he said it became the obvious choice, noting Queensland risked missing out on international cricket if the status quo continued.

We were certainly happy, both of us, to support the concept of demolition and reconstruction. And I guess that's one thing to say, but what we actually didn't see was the details behind that, he said.

And once we got into the details when we started to get a little more clarity, it wasn't going to work for either of us financially.

GETTING STARTED: THE FOUR-DAY TEST DEBATE RESTARTS

This summer's testing has flown by quickly, so Saturday's rain delay was a jarring change of pace.

Seventeen wickets fell on day one of the series opener in Perth, while the pink-ball match in Adelaide ended in less than seven sessions. It comes after each of the seven Tests Australia played against Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand last summer ended at stumps on day four.

As more teams embrace an aggressive approach to batting, runs and wickets are flowing at a significantly faster pace. According to MONKEY58 percent of Tests this decade have finished before the start of day five, while the number of balls per match is at its lowest figure since the 1880s.

The fast pace of the modern game has made the ongoing dilemma of overvalue virtually insignificant: there have been 50 Tests this year, but only one ended as a draw.

Subsequently, the four-day Test debate flared up again.

I am more entertained with the way players are playing cricket these days, they are getting on with it, said former England captain Michael Vaughan on Fox Cricket.

The modern player is so attuned to just playing naturally in the Rishabh Pant way, Harry Brook, Travis Head way.

I just think it's a four-day product. Scheduling will be a lot easier, a three-Test tour would only take a month.

I've always loved five-day cricket, but I think it's a four-day product.

If we get a rainy day, these captains and players would just continue the game a little faster.

The four-day Test proposal is more relevant for countries outside the big three, as host drivers typically lose money if matches end quickly due to catering costs and ticket refunds. Meanwhile, shorter tests create even more headaches for advertisers and broadcasters.

For countries like South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies, where it is becoming harder to prevent players from taking opportunities on the T20 circuit, four-day Tests could soon become a necessity.

According to Australian captain Pat Cummins, conditions have also encouraged shorter matches, with curators preparing tougher pitches since the Covid-19 pandemic. And of course, the New South Welshman has no quarrel with bowler-friendly decks that he and the Australian pace cartel can exploit.

It's funny, the wickets have definitely been a bit juicier in recent years. They've been played at a faster pace, Cummins said.

You always go into a test thinking it will take five days. But the most important thing is that if things do accelerate, you can be quick.