While Australia and India are involved in the crucial third Test of the five-match Test series in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Indian captain Rohit Sharma chose to field first after winning the toss. There is a significant question that has arisen, especially after the first ten overs in the rain-interrupted first session, whether the Indian captain made the right call or not.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma is a little bit under pressure at the present moment. India suddenly suffered a big setback by losing the home three-match Test series against New Zealand by 3-0, which shook their dominant top-place position in the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship points table. 

Rohit Sharma hurt on Bengaluru Test decision

During the latest New Zealand tour of India, Indian captain Rohit Sharma made a wrong call in the Test series opener at Bengaluru, where he chose to bat first in the overcast condition. However, that decision backfired on the hosts, who were bundled out for only 46 runs in the first innings of that Test. 

While the ongoing BGT Test series is running with the 1-1 position before the crucial third Test at Brisbane, the toss decision is always going to be vital for every team. The first session of the crucial Gabba Test experienced two rain interruptions as Australia were batting at 28/0 in 13.2 overs. Although the Indian pacers didn’t set any easy opportunities to score runs in the shorter rain-interrupted first session, the Aussie openers were hardly challenged. 

Most recent record of the Gabba Test

Previously, the Gabba in Brisbane hosted a Test match between Australia and West Indies last January, which was a day-night pink ball Test match. West Indies ultimately stunned by winning that Test match by eight runs as the hosts Australia closely failed to chase the fourth innings target of 216 runs. It was Australia’s first defeat in the pink-ball Test match history, while West Indies ended their 21-year-long wait for winning a Test match against Australia. 

Although Australia failed to chase a 216-run fourth innings target in the Gabba Test, we can’t get the latest Test stories from this information because it is not a regular red-ball Test match. 

See Also: Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Top 5 Memorable Test matches played at the Gabba

Recent red-ball Test match records at the Gabba

Talking about the regular red-ball Test match records at the Gabba, the last five Tests experienced only the winning sides, who batted second in the Test matches. A first-batting team won a Gabba Test last time in November 2015, where the Baggy Greens claimed a dominant win against New Zealand by 208 runs. 

Since December 2011, only two out of the nine red-ball Gabba Tests have experienced successful results for the first batting teams. Meanwhile, all other seven Brisbane Tests ended with the second batting team’s successes.

The upper records clearly indicate that the Gabba Test pitches become more favourable for the batters with time progress. As the third Test of the ongoing BGT has started in overcast conditions, the Indian captain’s decision only felt more logical. 

Persistent rain waiting for the Gabba Test

Meanwhile, the ongoing Gabba Test can experience a big battle against the rain god. The opening-day shower not only interrupts the first session of the Test match, but also takes away more time from the opening day. The chance of the play in the remainder of the first day is getting weaker with the time progress. 

According to the weather forecast, there is a lesser chance of rain on Sunday as it has nearly a 50% chance of precipitation. However, the next three days will experience more rain, as each of the three days has a precipitation forecast of 70%. 

The detailed forecast suggests that Monday will experience more rain in the early morning and the evening. During the last two days of the Gabba Test, rain can be experienced mainly during the match.  

The weather forecast has a big indication of the Test match result, as we can experience a draw result in the case of insufficient match progression. The venue experienced its last Test draw in November 2012, when South Africa toured in Australia. 

The Gabba in Brisbane has long been regarded as Australia's stronghold, a place where the home team has always prevailed. For India, this field has been a source of both frustration and glory, capturing the highs and lows of cricket struggles in Australia, as they had just one but significant victory on Brisbane soil.

As India prepares for their next and crucial third Test match at this legendary venue on December 14, 2024, here are the top five most memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) matches played at the Gabba, Brisbane.