Here’s our report of a frustrating, stop-start day at the Gabba. Geoff has also written a brilliant piece on Virat Kohli which will be up on the site soon.

That’s all for today’s blog. Martin Pegan and Angus Fontaine are on duty tomorrow, hopefully reporting on actual cricket rather than the weather. Thanks for your company today, goodnight.

Only 33.1 overs were possible on day three, though that was time enough for Australia to take total control of the game. The three quicks bowled beautifully with the new ball to reduce India to 51 for 4 at the close, and Australia’s victory chances depend on the Brisbane weather on the last two days.

If the forecast is accurate they face a race against time to first make India follow on and then bowl them out a second time. At least they’ve given themselves a chance; and if they do pull it off, it’ll be one for the books.

The scheduled close of play is 6.20pm so there might still be time for another mini-mini-session. The umpires are out in the middle without umbrellas.

And they’re off. More rain, more covers, more frustration. That’s almost certainly it for the day.

17th over: Australia 51-4 (Rahul 33, Rohit 0) Travis Head also starts round the wicket to Rahul, who is hit high on the thigh by a delivery that turns and bounces really sharply. The TV commentators – Allan Border, Brendon Julian and Michael Vaughan - can’t believe there are only two men round the bat for Head, a slip and short leg.

16th over: Australia 50-4 (Rahul 32, Rohit 0) Lyon starts around the wicket to Rahul with a slip, leg slip and short leg. I’d be tempted to have a leg gully as well. There’s a run-out chance of sorts when Rahul takes a quick single into the leg side. Rohit dithered and would have been in serious trouble had the ball not bounced past the sliding Cummins.

Nathan Lyon is coming on to bowl, so either the light has deteriorated in the next two minutes or Starc was only allowed to complete the over because he started it before the rain break. That wouldn’t be right, surely?

15th over: Australia 49-4 (Rahul 31, Rohit 0) The light must be okay for the quicks because Mitchell Starc is going to complete the over he started before the rain break. There’s a half shout for a catch down the leg side when Rohit pushes at a ball on the hip, but replays show it missed everything.

It looks like the umpires have told Pat Cummins he can only bowl his spinners because of the light. Not ideal but it beats being in the changing room, and the match situation means Australia can have a heap of fielders round the bat.

An inspection is taking place right now. The umpires don’t look entirely happy, possibly because of the light. Australia’s players are all on the outfield, ready to go. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are nowhere to be seen.

“I live near the Gabba,” says John Burrell. “It’s pouring now. Play will be abandoned for the day as it was for Saturday when I went to the ground. A wet walk home. You seem to have been up all night doing the NZ v Eng blog too. Go get your beauty sleep.”

I’m sorry to say that ship sailed about 15 years ago. It feels likely that play will be abandoned for the day in the next half an hour or so. But with the drainage these days…

“I know bring captain isn’t supposed to be fun,” begins Ivor Shapiro, “but is this the worst of times to be a Test captain? Cummins, I presume, is doing calculations about how much India needs to score for him to want to bat again at all, and with what unknowable target. Rohit, I presume, must put distracting thoughts of victory out of mind and keep his mates focused on staying safe, ball after ball after ball, for most of the next three days.”

You could argue it’s a free hit for Cummins. The weather forecast makes it essentially impossible for Australia to lose this game and runs are unlikely to be a factor with India so far behind. That means his only focus is finding a way to take 16 wickets. It’s pretty unlikely, assuming the forecast is correct, but that might make Australia more relaxed in the field.

Still raining. In theory play can continue for another two hours or so, but, well, that’s in theory.

It’s hard to see how Australia can force victory in this game unless the forecast for the last two days improves significantly. We’ve had 30.2 overs of play so far today. Using that as a rough guide, they would need to take the last 16 wickets in 60.4 overs.

Play will not resume at 3.45pm. The covers are back on and there’s nothing else to say.

Play will resume at 3.45pm, unless it rains again.

The rain has started to ease so the players could get back on after tea. It might not be for long, though, with more showers forecast in the next couple of hours.

Pat Cummins’ increasing dominance against Rishabh Pant could be an important factor in who wins the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Before this series Pant scored 90 runs off Cummins in Tests without being dismissed. But Cummins has got him in all three Tests at a cost of only 21 runs.

“My cricketing experience might be limited to under-10s indoor cricket circa 1996, but this must be the nightmare scenario for India,” says Rowan Sweeney. “Having to continually reset and get their eyes back in has to be challenging for them mentally. The old parlance of not having enough time to make the runs, but having plenty to lose the wickets seems particularly apt.”

Exactly. These stop-start days are horrible for batters, which makes KL Rahul’s performance even better. Honestly, how can that man, that coaching manual on legs, average 34 after playing more than 50 Tests?

“I’ve just read that Kane Williamson is ‘an accomplished barista’,” writes Scott Probst. “Is not Marnus Labushagne also an obsessive accomplished coffee maker when on tour? Who would be the best coffee maker do you think?”

I thought it was Adam Zampa? I suppose an enlightened dressing-room like Australia’s can accommodate more than one barista. Apparently Ian Chappell’s team regularly contained 11 beeristas.

Oh god, did I really type that? It’s been a long night over here in England.

“Been intermittently enjoying the background noise/MBM of this series in between the manic calls of the neighbouring Amazonian parrot (...there it goes again!)” begins Chris Paraskevas. “Wondering if anyone has touched on the absence of Mohammed Shami yet?

“India have been sorely lacking with the bat but I think in key sessions, they could have used his control/skid/subtle movement. I always thought he was a classy operator in the Test arena and a touch underrated. Just read that he’s potentially had a falling out with Rohit?

“PS. The parrot always starts screeching when rain is approaching... they should find one for the groundsmen at the Gabba.”

No idea about a potential falling out but he is still regaining match fitness after a long spell out with injury. I agree with you. I think he’s a sensational bowler, whose only real flaw is to exist in the same era as Jasprit Bumrah. India miss Shami and also Kuldeep Yadav really badly.

14th over: India 44-4 (Rahul 26, Rohit 0) Pant was on strike because of more good fielding by Starc, who kept India to one run when Rahul worked Cummins to deep backward square.

Before the wicket Rahul drove beautifully for four and was beaten by a jaffa of such absurdity that Cummins started laughing as he walked back to his mark.

There is play in Hamilton, where New Zealand currently lead England by 531 runs. Kane Williamson has just gone a high-class 156. Doesn’t really need the adjective with him, does it.

13th over: India 39-3 (Rahul 21, Pant 9) Rahul forces Starc stylishly past the infield, though the slowish outfield means he gets three runs rather than a boundary.

12th over: India 34-3 (Rahul 17, Pant 8) A big cheer from the crowd as Cummins comes on to replace Hazlewood. His fourth ball is a beauty to Rahul that lifts and straightens; Rahul again does pretty well to ensure the inevitable edge falls short of the cordon.

In tough situations like this, Rahul looks such a good player. His Test average of 34 is one of the 21st century’s great unsolved mysteries.

11th over: India 32-3 (Rahul 16, Pant 7) Pant reaches well wide of off stump to drive Starc through extra cover for three. It looked like a risky shot – it wasn’t a half volley either – but he has such good hands.

10th over: India 28-3 (Rahul 15, Pant 4) KL Rahul softens his hands to ensure an edge falls well short of the pack of wolves behind the wicket. He feels like the key wicket, even with Rishabh Pant at the crease, because time is as much of a factor as runs. Rahul has already faced 362 balls in this series, second only to Travis Head.

Play is about to resume! Drainage these days, eh?

Josh Hazlewood has five balls of his fifth over remaining.

Thanks Geoff, hello everyone. Showers are forecast throughout the afternoon, so we may have seen the last cricket of the day. With thunderstorms expected on days four and five, Australia may have to settle for the dreaded moral victory.

Even so, they’d have taken this position after being demolished in the first Test at Perth. It’s been a remarkable turnaround, the most impressive by an Australia side on home soil since… goodness knows when. You might even have to go back to 1936-37.

The downsides? It’s still 1-1, which won’t do, and India are unlikely to pick such a flawed XI for the last two Tests. But right now, Maurice Mentum is wearing a baggy green.

Given it’ll be a while before anything happens, we’re going for an early handover. Please enjoy the company of your next precipitation correspondent, Rob Smyth.

And more rain. With violent wind that pulls the pitch cover off and lets the surface get soaked for 30 seconds.

9th over: India 26-3 (Rahul 14, Pant 3) More patience from KL Rahul, who leaves four deliveries of Starc’s over and only plays the ones he must. No run.

8th over: India 26-3 (Rahul 14, Pant 3) First ball after lunch, and Pant creams an on drive for three. Strike rate 300, off strike. Handy. KL Rahul defends Hazlewood with delightfully soft hands along the ground through Head at short leg. Doesn’t get a run there, but does to fine leg.

Alright! We’re back on the field, and partway through a Hazlewood over given the rain fell after a wicket earlier.

And now we’re coming off for rain. Rishabh Pant walks to the middle and then is told to go back.

7th over: India 21-2 (Rahul 12, Kohli 3) Smart self-preservation from Kohli, off strike again to start the over. But Rahul puts him right back on strike by dropping a run towards point. Kohli plays a crisp drive against Starc to mid off, but no run. So the non-cordon fielders are mid off, mid on, midwicket, fine leg. Bouncer from Starc, Kohli wears it on his top glove with his hands almost above his head. Serious bounce.

Aditya Srinath emails in. “The only thing holding Bumrah back from being in the pantheon of all time greats yet, imho, he’s never taken 10 wickets in a Test match. Sifting through his stats, puts him in the same zip code as Marshall and Garner. I was jawdropped to be reminded that Marshall held a 20 average per wicket over 81 tests. That’s crazy...”

Took 376 wickets in those Tests! Unbelievable record, especially alongside three other hungry quicks.

6th over: India 19-2 (Rahul 11, Kohli 2) Run to fine leg for Kohli, plus an overstep from Hazlewood. Then a sensuous drive from Rahul! Down on one knee to go through cover, bold enough to play it against Hazlewood when the length is right. Tough to have that confidence when the balls a bit shorter are still cutting off the pitch in towards him. Then a less judicious shot to end the over, the length not full enough, Rahul driving on the up, and just getting enough on his shot to lift it over Marsh at gully, who flies again but this time can’t snaffle the chip.

5th over: India 9-2 (Rahul 3, Kohli 1) Swing from Starc, but beautifully driven by Rahul, waits for the inswing before playing a checked drive dead straight past the bowler for two. So watchful. Then the softest hands through the cordon, no carry even though he edges the ball. Doesn’t take a run, not quite enough time.

4th over: India 7-2 (Rahul 1, Kohli 1) Here’s the battle. Kohli Hazlewood. Nearly a return catch lobbed back! Hazlewood not spry enough to race down after getting his first ball off the sticker and up in the air. Five in the cordon, nobody at point or cover, as Hazlewood fishes in the channel outside off stump. Kohli leaves what he can, knocks a couple towards midwicket to the fielder there.

3rd over: India 7-2 (Rahul 1, Kohli 1) If there’s a bad matchup for Kohli in Test cricket, it would be Josh Hazlewood on a lively one in Brisbane. This was the only venue where he didn’t make a century in 2014/15, when he made four in four Tests. That was his only match here until now. He’s got hundreds in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth.

And before he gets to Hazlewood, he has to get through Starc. Almost edges a drive first ball, then gets a fizzing delivery that lifts past the shoulder of the bat. Escapes strike third ball from an inside squeeze.

2nd over: India 6-1 (Rahul 1, Gill 1) Ohhh no. KL Rahul has been hit on the arm, and I think he’s in trouble here, though he’s attempting to play on. Horrible ball to face from Hazlewood, it jumps sharply off a length and cuts inwards substantially. KL is forward to play it off the front foot and has nowhere to go. It hits the wrist of his top hand, missing the glove padding and the arm guard, and on the slow motion replay you can see the arm wobble with the impact. Hard to see how that’s not broken, or at the very least badly bruised. But he’s able to take the impact of playing a subsequent ball, and holds the bat in that top hand after the shot, so perhaps he’ll be ok. Surely the injury will stiffen up later and make batting difficult. He survives the over.

1st over: India 6-1 (Rahul 1, Gill 1) So Shubman Gill will face a ball before the opener KL Rahul. Positive player, aiming to score with a drive first ball, succeeding with a glance second ball. Rahul’s first ball is very wide of off stump. His second, inside edged drive to deep backward. Wow.

We’re about to start…

Mitchell Starc warming up. Here’s an interesting little comparison. He and Bumrah both have career bests of six wickets in an innings.

Starc five times, Bumrah now five times.

Then with their innings of exactly five wickets, Starc has nine of them, Bumrah seven.

Starc has bowled in 174 innings, Bumrah in 82. Fewer than half.

There are various reasons one could posit, like playing in a stronger bowling attack compared to being the absolute go-to guy, but it’s still remarkable.

Uh oh. The covers are back on. Doesn’t seem to be raining right now, but there was a sprinkle.

“Very nice of Starc to see off Bumrah for Carey,” Ruth Purdue wrote earlier. And yes, that did work reasonably well. Though surprising that Bumrah only bowled two overs. Rohit does need to look after his irreplaceable asset.

At the moment Bumrah has 191 Test wickets at 19.73. Wild.

“What bugs me about the way we go about these minor rain stoppages is that once they go off there seems to be a minimum 20 minutes before play can resume,” writes Murrah Henman. “Surely once the rain is gone, they can just remove the covers, dry the outfield with a few runs of that rope, and get back to it? Or am I missing something?”

You’re missing a little bit, because they do need some time to let the water soak away. The rope knocks it off the top of the grass, but the soil is still wet. So the bowling team’s ball will get soaked, and it’s a big disadvantage. Giving it a bit more time does actually make a difference.

117th over: Australia 445-9 (Carey 70, Hazlewood 0) So 30 balls for Lyon’s innings, helped Carey add a few, and now Hazlewood sees out the over.

116th over: Australia 445-8 (Carey 70, Lyon 2) Carey wakes up again! Last ball of Akash Deep’s over, Australia’s keeper spanks a pull shot over square for four.

115th over: Australia 441-8 (Carey 66, Lyon 2) A review for lbw against Lyon, who kneels and sweeps and is hit in the ribcage by Jadeja. Juuuuust outside the line of off stump when the ball hits his body. It was close otherwise. Still strongly believe they should do away with that law. Shouldn’t matter where the ball hits body, if it’s going to hit stumps.

114th over: Australia 440-8 (Carey 65, Lyon 2) Akash Deep slips very wide of the off stump, off the pitch. Still just on the cut strip as it passes Carey, but lands off the strip behind the crease. Pant does well to keep it to two wides, as they run on the deflection. Lyon gets his first runs, driving square and judging the second well.

113th over: Australia 436-8 (Carey 65, Lyon 0) Resuming after rain, Carey happy to take a run from Jadeja first ball.

112th over: Australia 435-8 (Carey 64, Lyon 0) Sorry, got distracted by the rain before and forgot to note the 112th over, that happened before the break. One run to Carey from Akash Deep in that one.

Weird stuff at the break, Seven running a whole compilation segment including pre-recorded interviews with teammates about Steve Smith reaching 10,000 Test runs, which… he hasn’t done yet. Still 195 short, could easily not get there during this series.

Looks like it might be a short break, at least.

aaaaand it’s raining again. Thanks Brisbane.

(It is the rule of cricket that we get to be angry with whatever city it rains in.)

111th over: Australia 434-8 (Carey 63, Lyon 0) Almost a run out! The ball goes to midwicket and Carey takes off for the run. Lyon has to dive into his ground at the striker’s end. The good thing for Australia was that Jadeja was bowling, not fielding, so Gill’s throw was a touch wide of the stumps and Pant had to gather.

110th over: Australia 433-8 (Carey 62, Lyon 0) Akash Deep carries on, Lyon getting strike for the fifth ball and trying an audacious pull shot. He likes those. Misses out this time.

109th over: Australia 432-8 (Carey 61, Lyon 0) Jadeja burning through his overs, he is getting a bit of turn out there now. Single.

108th over: Australia 431-8 (Carey 60, Lyon 0) Akash Deep replaces Bumrah after just a couple of overs, and gets clattered! Carey launches a lofted cover drive way back into the stands! Goodness me.

107th over: Australia 424-8 (Carey 53, Lyon 0) Jadeja keeps going, and gets through a quiet over after a Carey single first ball.

105th over: Australia 419-7 (Carey 52, Starc 14) Well, Starc likes hitting spin! Banged a bevy of sixes during an innings at the MCG once, and he launches his first in this innings, Jadeja way over midwicket.

104th over: Australia 411-7 (Carey 51, Starc 7) Bumrah from the other end, and maybe he’s a little slow to get going after his exertions yesterday. Starc defends him solidly enough.

Slight delay to the start of play in Brisbane as they finish warm-ups, some rain earlier caused that.

There’s another Test match on, of course, over the ditch in New Zealand, where England are in the process of dealing with a Kiwi fight back. But… there’s rain falling and the start to play has been delayed. Still, Rob Smyth is on the tools and you can join him here:

It was a big moment for Smith yesterday, after a long wait. Here’s my report from the ground.