IND vs AUS 3rd Test, Glenn McGrath on Rohit Sharma: Australia’s legendary fast bowler Glenn McGrath has given his opinion on Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl first in the third Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Brisbane. Let us tell you, the Indian captain won the toss in Gabba and decided to bowl first. The team batting first on the Gabba ground has the advantage because batting becomes difficult in the fourth innings and chasing the target is very difficult. However, the last time India played a match here, it broke Australia’s pride and registered its first win on this ground.
So far 68 Tests have been played at the Gabba ground in Brisbane and during this period, the team batting first has won 26 matches, while the team bowling first has won 27 matches. But here the average score of the fourth innings is half of the average score of the first innings. The average score in the first innings at Gabba is 327, while in the second innings it falls to 317. But the average score in the third innings is 238 and in the fourth innings the average score on this ground is 161. In such a situation, after these figures, Rohit Sharma’s decision is quite surprising and many veterans are raising questions about this decision of Rohit.
However, considering the forecast conditions, Rohit Sharma has decided to bowl first, this is the opinion of many including Aakash Chopra. There was a possibility of rain on the first day of the Brisbane Test. It was cloudy since the beginning of the match. As was expected, it happened and only 13.2 overs were played on the first day and the rest of the day’s play was canceled due to rain. There is a possibility of rain on the second day also.
However, Australian legend Glenn McGrath has given a different reason behind this and it has surprised the fans. Times of India quoting ABC News wrote, Glenn McGrath is not surprised by Rohit Sharma’s decision to choose fielding. Glenn McGrath said, “I am not surprised that Rohit Sharma chose toss and bowl. He (Rohit Sharma) does not want to go there and bat.”
He further explained about the possible consequences of India’s decision to bowl first in the Gabba Test. “The thing is, if you bowl first and it goes pear-shaped, it looks really bad in the media, whereas if you bat first and it goes pear-shaped, it looks really bad,” he said. It’s a brave decision to bat first.”
Talking about the match, India decided to bowl first and bowled only 13.2 overs, after which the match was disrupted due to heavy rain. Australia managed to score 28 runs without losing any wicket. Considering the weather forecast conditions in Brisbane, the third Test is likely to end in a draw. Let us tell you, at present the series is equal to 1-1.
