BRISBANE, Australia — In the ongoing third cricket test against India at the Gabba, Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney navigated a disrupted first session on Saturday, amid rainfall and soggy conditions.

Unfortunately, this initial phase was the only segment of play for the day, as continuous rain led to the cancellation of the remaining matches. With further downpours forecasted, the umpires determined to call it a day approximately an hour before the scheduled end of play.

At one point, the Gabba’s outfield was nearly submerged due to the torrential rain hitting Brisbane. Despite the efforts to drain the field, the rain persisted without any significant breaks to allow for resumption of play.

The series currently stands tied at 1-1. India took the lead in the series after winning the first test by a substantial 295 runs in Perth, Western Australia. Australia bounced back in the second day-night test in Adelaide, securing victory by 10 wickets.

During the toss, India opted to send Australia in to bat and play was interrupted by rain shortly after the sixth over, halting for about 30 minutes. The showers returned roughly half an hour later, impacting play until the designated lunch break.

At that time, Khawaja had scored 19 runs while McSweeney was on 4, with Australia’s score standing at 28 runs without loss after 13.2 overs, marking the only action for the day.

In a strategic move, India made two alterations to their lineup, bringing back Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep in place of Harshit Rana and Ravichandran Ashwin.

On the Australian side, Josh Hazlewood returned to the starting eleven for the Brisbane test after recovering from a side strain that had kept him out of the Adelaide match. Scott Boland was the sole player to be omitted in this adjustment.