Australia v India: third men’s cricket Test, day two – live | Australia cricket team

84th over: Australia 318-4 (Head 149, Marsh 0) Towards the end of a day dominated by Smith’s footwork, that was a tired, leaden-footed swipe at a full delivery, more reminiscent of recent struggles than the free-flowing batting of the previous couple of hours. Head gets Marsh on strike with a single, then the allrounder fails to get off the mark, missing a loose Akash delivery down the leg side. A single off the last is then adjudged a leg-bye. Big final hour coming up for India.

Following the final drinks break of the day Australia work three singles off a Bumrah over that looks pedestrian, until he comes from widen on the crease and draws Smith into a drive that flies to the right of the tumbling Rohit at first slip who holds on this time to take an excellent catch.

Smith walks off with 101 to his name and the satisfaction of playing himself back into form. That was an innings full of resilience and it’s put Australia in the box seat in this Test.

82nd over: Australia 313-3 (Smith 100, Head 146) Akash shares new ball duties but after a sighter Smith on-drives with technical precision to move to 99. Then he nudges off his pads for his 33rd Test century, and first in 26 innings. He had to really battle through his first 50 or so runs, but since then he’s been towed along in Travis Head’s slipstream, looking increasingly fluent and back to something like his old self.

Meanwhile, Head continues on his merry way, getting a thick outside edge that beats gully and races away for four.

81st over: Australia 302-3 (Smith 95, Head 140) The new ball is taken immediately and gifted straight to Jasprit Bumrah. Can the Indian talisman drag his team back into the contest?

He has two slips and a gully to Head.. who whips a half-volley off his toes over midwicket for an undemanding boundary. The second ball keeps low after pitching, not the first to that in the past hour or so, which will delight Australia’s pacemen with 300 runs already to defend. Ball three is full and wide and Head appears to dig out a bump-ball drive that is claimed spectacularly by a diving Jaiswal in the gully, who hurls the ball into the air thinking (perhaps) there’s a catch. The third umpire takes little time confirming the ball was hit into the deck off the bat. Bumrah sees the over out neatly, but there was little to excite him about the new Kookaburra.

80th over: Australia 297-3 (Smith 95, Head 135) Siraj draws an edge from Smith… but the old ball kept low off the pitch, then off the bat, and doesn’t threaten to carry to first slip. Decent over from Siraj, no boundaries from it, and out comes the second new ball.

79th over: Australia 295-3 (Smith 94, Head 134) Six balls, five singles. Rohit is just hanging Jadeja out to dry. One over of punishment before India can take the new ball.

78th over: Australia 291-3 (Smith 92, Head 132) Siraj bowls ok, Australia accumulate for five balls, then on the last Head just stands and delivers on the rise from off stump back down the ground for an intimidating boundary. That was brutish.

77th over: Australia 282-3 (Smith 90, Head 125) Rohit could also have hooked Jaedja from the attack but he’s out of options with the new ball so close. Smith takes advantage, freeing his arms through the off side and flaying a boundary through square cover. Can Smith reach triple figures before the new ball?

76th over: Australia 277-3 (Smith 86, Head 124) Rohit is forced to remove Nitish from the attack and call on Siraj, who immediately beats Head for pace as he tries to cut a delivery that lacked width. Just one run from a much tidier over.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, play has ended on day two of the third Test with New Zealand well on course for a consolation victory over England.

75th over: Australia 276-3 (Smith 86, Head 123) Now Smith drills Jadeja through extra cover, and with the kind of insouciance we haven’t seen for a while, barely acknowledging the stroke as it races to the fence. It’s a shot that brings up the 200 partnership between this pair, one that began as a rebuilding job, became a platform, and is now a Test-defining combination that India have no answer to.

74th over: Australia 269-3 (Smith 81, Head 121) Nitish’s pace is dropping and Smith is starting to go through the gears, latching onto a wide delivery he’s been accustomed to leaving, then flowing his hands through an extra-cover drive that’s all timing. I think we can safely say he’s played himself back into form. Whether it’s consistent run-scoring form remains to be seen, but it’s a knock that removes any doubts over his place in this XI for the remainder of the summer.

73rd over: Australia 261-3 (Smith 74, Head 120) This pair are making life difficult for India. Rohit wants to sit on Jadeja from one end until the new ball but Head carves him through the covers for four, then Smith lofts him one bounce into the sightscreen for four more. Never mind the new ball, Australia may have already taken the Test away from India before it arrives.

72nd over: Australia 251-3 (Smith 69, Head 115) Nitish shares duties after tea but his first ball is overpitched and Head punches it with the full face of the bat straight back where it came from for a boundary of effortless simplicity. Then he’s dropped! Head tries to work Nitish off the stumps to leg and gets a leading edge that carries to a diving Rohit at second-ish slip, but tumbling away to his left the skipper can’t hold onto the chance despite getting two hands to the ball. Smith completes the over with a free swish of the blade, scything through the shot like a swashbuckler in an Errol Flynn movie for another confidence-boosting boundary.

71st over: Australia 237-3 (Smith 65, Head 106) Jadjea begins after Tea, and he almost jags the big wicket of Head with the centurion going too hard at a cut that wasn’t on after the ball spun into him off a length. He’s lucky to see his inside-edge run down to fine-leg instead of crashing into his pegs.

There’s still the slight possibly of a shower before the day is out, but that chance is becoming more remote every passing minute.

We should be in for ten or so overs of Australia making hay before what is likely to prove a Test-defining 90 minutes with the second new ball.

70th over: Australia 234-3 (Smith 65, Head 103) Australia complete the session without losing a wicket. They have motored from 75-3 to 234-3, turning this Test on its head. Travis Head has been the catalyst, but Steve Smith is grinding his way back into form at the other end.

India’s bowlers haven’t done too much wrong, but they lack anything resembling a plan to Head, and Rohit has been slow to respond to this partnership following a nip-and-tuck opening couple of hours.

69th over: Australia 231-3 (Smith 64, Head 101) Smith nurdles Bumrah away for a single to bring Head on strike. The crowd gets involved, clapping Bumrah through his approach and “ooohing” as Head’s mistimed cover drive fails to beat the field. The claps return the following ball, and this time they are capped by raucous cheers as Australia’s star man clips three runs off his toes to bring up an effortless and rapid century. Another game-changing knock from the South Australian. He is in the form of his life, and the timing couldn’t be better as colleagues struggle around him.

68th over: Australia 227-3 (Smith 63, Head 98) Short and wide from Nitish and Smith unfurls that heavy-handed cut that comes down like an executioner’s axe, pounding the ball to the cover fence. Nice comeback from the allrounder though who almost pierces Smith’s defence with a yorker, then follows that up with some extra bounce off a length. A single off the last comes much to the frustration of the Gabba crowd who are ready to salute Head’s inevitable ton.

67th over: Australia 222-3 (Smith 58, Head 98) Rohit breaks the glass in case of emergency and calls on Jasprit Bumrah to bowl his 18th over of the innings. Head couldn’t care less, bullying his second delivery off a length for four through mid-on. Then Smith plays one of those extra-cover drives where his feet are in position seemingly before the ball has been bowled and his bat looks about three blades wide. It only earns three on the slow outfield but it’s an ominous sign nonetheless.

Prepare to stand and applaud another Head century sooner rather than later.

66th over: Australia 214-3 (Smith 55, Head 93) Nitish replaces Siraj and Head welcomes him to the attack by crunching a long hop in front of point for yet another boundary. Now Smith gets in on the act, pulling with vintage timing well in front of square. Is he back?

65th over: Australia 205-3 (Smith 51, Head 88) More runs for Travis Head, rocking back and carving Jadeja through the covers for four, then watching the ball onto the bat for a late cut worth two. Australia are putting their foot on the gas and India seem unable to respond.

64th over: Australia 196-3 (Smith 50, Head 80) Whenever Siraj drops short to Head the Australian goes on the attack. The latest example is an uppercut for four down to third from a delivery on off stump that would have cramped a batter in poorer form. India need Rohit to get a hold of this situation and start setting the narrative, whether it’s a short-ball approach to Head, bowling dry to Smith, or rotating his attack. At the moment Australia are taking control of this Test reasonably unopposed.

63rd over: Australia 191-3 (Smith 50, Head 75) Head slaps Jadeja through the covers for a long three after a smidgen of extra bounce forces a rare false stroke. Smith then nudges a single to mid-on to bring up a 42nd half-century, and surely one of his most hardworking and determined.

Australia are now scoring at five rpo through the past dozen or so overs, taking the initiative away from India.

62nd over: Australia 184-3 (Smith 49, Head 71) Head continues to play a different game to the rest of his countrymen, swatting a pull from just in front of the badge on his helmet behind square for four. That was a decent bouncer from Siraj and his frenemy treated it with disdain. Another boundary follows soon afterwards, but far less convincingly, with a mighty slash outside off stump flying through the undermanned cordon.

That’s the hundred partnership, and Head is bringing Smith along in his slipstream.

61st over: Australia 173-3 (Smith 48, Head 61) Three singles from another rapid Jadeja over. This partnership is now 98, and with Head in full control of his game. India have a big 19 overs coming up before the second new ball is due.

60th over: Australia 170-3 (Smith 47, Head 59) Head effortlessly ramps Siraj for a one-bounce four, much to the annoyance of Simon Katich who is furious the man who has been fielding at a fly-slip/third is no longer in position. Of course Rohit then returns a fielder to that posting immediately afterwards.

On the subject of recently retired TV commentators…

This tweet is an astute observation and a pattern we’ve seen repeated throughout the past 20-30 years. Right now we have David Warner in his early commentary career sweet spot on FOX, along with Aaron Finch doing his best to add value on the mic on Seven.

The challenge for broadcasters is extending these windows for as long as possible (see Ricky Ponting) to avoid the expert analysis either losing currency as the game changes around them, or the cricketer segues into a broadcaster and stops making the effort as they become too comfortable with the sound of their own voice (see most of the rest).

At least with two options here in Australia I can flick between call teams when, say, Brett Lee thinks his job is to be funny, or James Brayshaw calls Steve Smith “Smudge” like he’s a footy player kicking a goal on FM radio.

59th over: Australia 163-3 (Smith 46, Head 53) Jadeja again does his best to improve the over-rate, conceding just a single for his troubles. The partnership is now up to 88.

I’m going to steal a nugget from cricket writer Daniel Cherny who has just tweeted “ Steve Smith batting average in Test cricket in 2024: At the Gabba: 143 / Everywhere else: 15.”

58th over: Australia 162-3 (Smith 46, Head 52) Smith continues to sidestep a long way across his stumps and earns a couple of leg-byes down to fine leg. Then he doesn’t move as far and is fortunate to squirt a leading edge through the vacant point region for a couple more. He is really grinding out there, but he keeps Siraj wicketless and moves closer to a half-century.

57th over: Australia 158-3 (Smith 44, Head 52) Jadeja hurries through a maiden, keeping Head watchful on the crease.

Jonathan Howcroft

Thank you Angus, and hello to everybody else out there.

After two quickfire Tests that moved at breakneck speed, we’re now halfway through an engrossing day of more traditional high-quality fare. India’s four seamers have given little away, and only Travis Head has looked to take the game on with the bat. Steve Smith’s innings has been fascinating, watching him return to that bold trigger movement to the off side and survive a number of near misses on both edges and marginal LBWs.

It’s been dry for most of the day despite heavy showers drifting inland across south east Queensland from the Pacific. There remains a chance one or more of those may clip the Gabba before the close of play.

And that close is scheduled to be 5.20pm local time (6.20pm AEDT) with an unlikely 56 overs scheduled to be bowled in the next three or so hours.

Please send me your emails and keep me company. The address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@guardian.co.uk.

56th over: Australia 158-3 (Smith 44, Head 52) Five from the over as Head takes another a pair of runs and a single and Smith takes an aerial route to another two from the bowling of Siraj. That brings this partnership to 83 – much-needed by Australia.

That’s me done for the day! Thanks for your company and emails. I pass the baton to Jonathan Howcroft who’ll take you home to stumps.

Siraj is back but Head is merciless. He takes the bowler’s short ball at 135kph and pulls hard in front of square for two to bring up his third 50-plus score in a row. Great batting by Head. He is hauling this Test match back into Australia’s favour.

55th over: Australia 153-3 (Smith 42, Head 49) Was that a snick?! Jadeja wangled his field, bringing in a silly mid-on with great fanfare. Head went to drive and missed. Big appeal from thw bowler but Rohit Sharma, with just one referral left, demurs. Good call – that noise was bat hitting pad. The next noise is Head whacking Jadeja over the top for FOUR down the ground. Wide again goes Jadeja? Down the ground again goes Head! Suddenly, with conbsecutive boundaries, Head is within sight of a half-century.

54th over: Australia 143-3 (Smith 42, Head 40) Akash Kumar Reddy is into his 18th over – the most for India in this innings. He has 0-39 with five maidens to show for it but has straightened his lines since the first session to make the batters play more often. And play Smith does! Akash put that one wider and Smith got onto his toes to cut for FOUR!

53rd over: Australia 139-3 (Smith 38, Head 39) Ravindra Jadeja bustles through another lightning-fast over, with just a single to Travis Head and a no-ball to show for it. The allrounder is in his 78th Test and averages over 35 with the bat and 23 with the ball with 3235 Test runs and 319 wickets. Yet he’s been left out of the side for this series until now!

52nd over: Australia 137-3 (Smith 38, Head 37) After Head’s single, Akash zeroes in on Smith’s leg stump. But Smudge is onto it and whips it quickly through midwicket for three runs. Head hammers square but can’t breach the field. It’s just a single and brings him level with Smith on 38. Akash beats Smith with the fifth and the batter bows his head to show he’s been bested.

51st over: Australia 132-3 (Smith 35, Head 36) Jadeja is a spin bowler who bowls quickly, hustling in and cranking out his deliveries like a dervish. Six balls disappear in a flash with just a leg bye leaked.

50th over: Australia 131-3 (Smith 35, Head 36) Smith drives down the ground for FOUR. It was a ripe half volley from Akash, who looks to be tiring in his 16th over, and Smith took full advantage, uncoiling a magnificent shot to send the ball to the rope. Great response from the bowler as he whips one, then a second, past the outside edge. We have an appeal… no raised finger… and no referral. Rightly so, as replays show that noise was ball hitting hip en route to the ‘keeper. Akash rips the next one past Smith’s batr and into his left pad and appeals afresh for LBW. Rohit refers it… and rues it. Replays show it flying over the top of leg stump.

49th over: Australia 127-3 (Smith 31, Head 36) Interesting change for India. Coming into bowl the 49th over is Ravi Jadeja, the world’s best allrounder in his first game of the series. And straight away he finds turn from this Gabba green top, getting one to fizz and stay low on Head. He’s up to the oddity though. And now he punishes extra bounce by pulling Jadeja around the corner for a muscular FOUR. Six from the over and the Smith-Head partnership has hit FIFTY. Of those, Steve Smith has contributed just 13.

48th over: Australia 121-3 (Smith 31, Head 30) Head ramps Bumrah for FOUR! What a shot. The Indian master dug the ball in short at 138kph and the Australian No 5 calmly leaned back, took it off his moustache and lifted it over the slip cordon for the craftiest of boundaries. Shot!

Over in Hamilton, England have collapsed to be all out 143! Rather than enforce the follow-on New Zealand are batting again with the buffer of a 204-run lead.

47th over: Australia 116-3 (Smith 31, Head 25) As Akash toils into his 15th over and the mercury nudges 30C in Brisbane, the Smith-Head partnership hits 40 runs, the best of the Australian innings so far. There is a beach ball doing the rounds of the outer and Smith is momentarily distracted, too much to score anything off the bat.

46th over: Australia 115-3 (Smith 31, Head 25) Bumrah’s 16th over is sharp and nasty and Australia take two singles, with neither batter eager to retain strike. Fascinating sessions ahead – will Head rip the Test from India’s grasp as he did in Adelaide? Or will Bumrah blast out the home side as he did so potently in Perth?

45th over: Australia 113-3 (Smith 30, Head 24) Akash is into his 13th over and has 0-25 so far. His first ball is a fast yorker and Head whips it off his toes for two. He looks in good touch does the Australian vice-captain. Indian enforcer Mohammed Siraj is back on the field after his dicky hamstring came good. He chases it down and gets his customary jeer from the outer. Heads cuts the second ball for a single. Smith shuffles into a straight ball and draws an appeal from Akash. But there’s no support from his teammates let alone the umpire.

44th over: Australia 110-3 (Smith 30, Head 21) Swish and a miss! Smith left the first one, chased the second. Bumrah drew him forward and Smith stepped out late and missed. Now an inside edge narrowly misses the timberwork and runs away to fine leg for FOUR. Rueful smiles from both batter and bowler but danger signs for Australia. Bumrah has a full belly and an appetite for destruction. A single to Smith gets him to 30 and brings Head on strike. Bumrah switches to around the wicket and angles it in on a leg stump line. Head steps out and meets it, driving for an easy single to keep strike.

Players are back on the field and action is about to get under way. It will be Jasprit Bumrah to Steve Smith…

What a terrific session that was – rain-free and action-packed!

Under blue Brisbane skies, India won the early battle thanks again to their fast-bowling maestro Jasprit Bumrah (2-26 from 14 overs). He dismissed both Australia’s opening pair of Usman Khawaja (21 from 54) and Nathan McSweeney (nine from 49) in a brilliant spell of controlled yet aggressive bowling in the morning session.

Australia rallied for a time with a 37-run partnership between the twitch twins of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Then, in the 33rd over, Nitish Kumar Reddy wrestled back the momentum for the visitors, drawing Marnus forward and catching the edge for Virat Kohly to pouch his second catch of the day. It put Australia on the brink at 75-3.

Smith lived dangerously with his hot-stepping from leg stump to off and was lucky to survive several close appeals. But he endured, and has battled his way to lunch unbeaten on 25 with just a solitary boundary from his 68 balls faced. Travis Head has typically added rocket fuel to the innings, charging to 20 from 35 balls with two boundaries. His battle against Bumrah in this next session may yet define the Test – and the series.

Time to wet the whistle and bolster the belly. Back soon!

43rd over: Australia 104-3 (Smith 25, Head 20) Travis Head doesn’t believe in blocking his way to a break. First ball from Akash he attacks and drives for two runs to deep cover. Then a single to take his total to 20 from 32 and this partnership to 26 at a strike-rate of 50. Smith taps another one onto his tally. Head again has a heave at Akash but misses. His drives at the fifth but Bumrah cuts it off with a dive. In good news for India, Mohammed Siraj is back on the field seemingly recovered from his hamstring twinge.

That will be lunch.

42nd over: Australia 100-3 (Smith 24, Head 17) After Smith pushes Bumrah through square leg for a single, Australia’s hundred comes up from a Head push backward of square. One more over before we break for a feed I reckon.

41st over: Australia 98-3 (Smith 23, Head 16) Travis Head isn’t playing for lunch – he’s ever-hungry for runs. Two balls in succession he’s tried to slash Akash over gully and failed. Now he flashes again and Pant has to really jump to haul it down. A very eventful maiden!

40th over: Australia 98-3 (Smith 23, Head 16) Smith v Bumrah isn’t quite Godzilla v Kong although “Smudge” isn’t a bad moniker for a metropolis-marauding behemoth. Not in this over though. After Head’s sharp single from Bumrah’s front-foot no-ball, Smith plays out three dots.

39th over: Australia 95-3 (Smith 23, Head 15) Just a single for Head as he cuts backward of square. Nitish keeps it tight for the remainder of the over as Smith looks to lunch.

38th over: Australia 94-3 (Smith 23, Head 14) Finally, we have the monster match this crowd has been waiting for: Head v Bumrah. Head takes a single from the first, Smith does likewise. And now… WHACK! Head gets onto the front foot and drives with pinpoint accuracy between mid off and cover for FOUR. Lovely shot. He tries to replicate it on the next but doesn’t middle it. Instead it’s a sand iron chipped over the infield for three. Suddenly, Travis Head has 14 from 16 balls and is officially away!

37th over: Australia 85-3 (Smith 22, Head 6) As Siraj continues and Bumrah remains ominously on ice, Australia take two backward of point.

Tully Haines has been in touch by email after a fielding mishap resulted in what Tully believes is a fatal twist of fate for Marnus:

Hi Angus, I was very worried Labuschagne would get out that ball, Smith’s shot for three clearly touched Bumrah’s trousers while his arm was on the ground over the rope. Should have been a four and Smith should have stayed on strike.

Meanwhile, Ross McGillivray joins the chorus of critics who loathe Labuschagne’s slow-motion walk off after being dismissed…

Marnus strolls off as slow as can be practising the shot he thinks he played that hit him out. He’s a bit of a worry.

Agree, Ross. Not a good look by Marnus. But it’s been going on for some time now hasn’t it? Would you consider it dissent? And whose job is it to call him on it?

India have another worry. Mohammed Siraj has gone off with an injury.

36th over: Australia 83-3 (Smith 20, Head 6) Head… SHOT! Nitish gave him width and Travis whacked him to the boundary with a square cut that disappeared in a flash. Head tries it again but this time it’s stopped by the infielder. He gets a single from the next instead but this Test has started to accelerate now Australia’s wrecking ball No 5 is at the crease. There’s a mild appeal as Head’s pull shot misses by a millimetre. Nothing doing.

35th over: Australia 77-3 (Smith 19, Head 1) Mohammed Siraj is back for a tenth over but surely Jasprit Bumrah will return next over to take on Head before he gets going. But not yet. First we have a huge shout for LBW against Smith – no appeal mind you, as Siraj continues his annoying habit of charging to his slip cordon rather than asking the question of the umpire. Umpire says NO but it’s a no-shot by Smith and an ugly one. He stepped across and got hit hard and high on the right pad. Siraj was certain he had the wicket but the umpire shook his head. Sharma referred it… but no dice. Although it’s clipping the off bail, we will stay with the infield decision. Now we have more controversy as Siraj loses the towel tucked into his waistband in his delivery stride. Smith plays a shot while pointing out the anomaly and somehow manages a run. Head finds a single off the last to finish a weird over.

34th over: Australia 75-3 (Smith 15, Head 0) After that wicket, Travis Head walks to the wicket on a run of three golden ducks in a row at the Gabba! He survives the first ball from Nitish, thankfully one of those legside deliveries that undid him in the past. Head’s hands are flashing as always, hungry for bat on ball. But he can’t get off the mark just yet. Good over by Nitish.