BRISBANE: The last time Rohit Sharma was at The Gabba, it was the nervous evening of Jan 19, 2021. That day, on a pitch where both teams piled on runs, ended in happy tears as Rishabh Pant and India made history. The Gabbatoir was a fortress no more.
At the colosseum, steeped in history since 1895 when it was established, Australia hadn’t lost a Test match in 32 years. That myth was broken by a maverick youngster from Roorkee, a small town in Uttarakhand. Such was the impact of that loss, and the series during the Covid pandemic to an India team struggling to put together a fit XI, that the hosts reverted to something more familiar. England, the next visitor saw the colout -- it was green.
It yield results as Australia kicked off The Ashes with a resounding win and went on to retain the urn. Next year, same approach against South Africa with the same result. When West Indies came visiting at the beginning of this year, The Gabba was not as green but pink ball did enough as Australia lost again.
On Thursday morning, as the India team, led by Sharma arrived at the venue for a training they were greeted by a surface with thick grass cover. India are low on confidence, especially their skipper and hosts Australia cannot be happier after the result in Adelaide. It comes as no surprise that Pat Cummins and Co would want to apply pressure and take a lead over the weekend with the pacers coming to the fore, hoping to run through India’s rather inconsistent and brittle batting line-up.
Their only fear in retaining that much of a grass on the surface over the next couple of days — there is no guarantee that the pitch will look the same on Saturday — is that India pacers could hit back as hard. The last thing Cummins would want is another Perth where Australia bowled well but their counterparts bettered them. From an Indian perspective, they wouldn’t mind as it gives them some advantage as well. This is primarily because on a flatter surface, mercurial Jasprit Bumrah would be searching for assistance from his fellow pacers.
On Thursday, in what seemed to be an intense training session, all eyes were on the skipper, who is searching for runs in every way possible. His first innings knock at the venue in 2021 ended with him throwing away his wicket against Nathan Lyon. Sharma would not want a repeat of it this time. Not just him, but also Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Pant will be itching to step up. Adelaide loss might not have been as bad as 36 all out in 2021, but it has raised a lot of questions. For which, India will be seeking answers.
Even as both teams get ready for on-field action, there seemed to be a lot unfolding in the background. Just as the new ICC chief Jay Shah arrived in Brisbane and met the Olympic Organising Committee, the outgoing Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley has reportedly expressed their desire to propose a new stadium in Victoria Park.
The Gabba, which has hosted 68 Tests since 1931 (66 men and two women), will have a tie in the next year’s Ashes as well, but does not host a match in 2026-27 summer according to The Courier Mail. Speaking to the Australian daily, Hockley had said that the sport should move on from the historic venue with its final match being the gold medal match of the 2032 Olympics. “…it’s clear that The Gabba is coming to the end of its useful life and the Brisbane 2032 Games provide an amazing opportunity to develop a world class stadium that delivers strong legacy for Queensland by providing cricket and football fans with the facilities that they deserve,” Hockley was quoted saying by The Courier Mail.
The background to this issue is that the earlier proposal to renovate and rebuild The Gabba was dropped because of the exceeding costs and there is a strong public opinon growing in need for a new venue. The Gabba, which also hosts the Queensland football team, can host 38000 fans while the proposed one is expected to be much bigger. It all might come down to the new Queensland government’s 100-day review of the 2032 Games progress and how things go from there.
For now, the focus will be on the field, where Sharma and Cummins go toe to toe in front of a packed crowd on Saturday to decide who delivers the first blow.