Australia vs India. 3rd Test. Brisbane. 2024/25. Day Two.

"Send 'em in Nasser!"
It's a phrase that has become synonymous when visiting captains insert Australia first on the first day at the Gabba. It didn't work for Nasser Hussain 22 years ago, it doesn't appear to have worked for Rohit Sharma here.
Though the top three didn't do much damage on the scoreboard, they once again saw off tough periods of play - the openers on the rain shortened first day for 14 overs, and then Labuschagne the first hour of the second day. When he was dismissed with the score on 75, almost 34 overs had been bowled. The ball was getting softer, the pitch a tad more benign.

Enter Smith and Head.

Travis Head has his doubters, but he has proven to be a match changer. He does hit the ball in the air more than he may need, he does flash often outside off stump. He rides his luck, and when it's in he's impossible to stop. Game positions like yesterday are where he thrives, taking the hard work down by the top four and turning it into runs at a good clip, feasting on tiring bowlers and changing the momentum of the innings. It is what teams want from their numbers 5 and 6, and Head is in a good place at the moment. He rightfully won plaudits for Australia's win in Adelaide, and has set them on a similar course here. But he would be the first to suggest that it was that hard work done at the top of the order that gave him that opportunity.

Not the least by his partner in their 241 partnership. Steve Smith has been out of runs lately, but not out of form. He looked good in the ODI's. He got a good one first up in Perth, and a leg side strangle in Adelaide. He tinkered again, and went back to what has been successful in the past. His imperious batting is on the wane, as even the greats have happen to them in their final few years. Tendulkar, Ponting, Lara... they all became less productive, but continued to work their backsides off to contribute to their team. So too did Smith yesterday. He refused to budge. He had some fortune, without which he could well have been out LBW twice. But he deserved it. He fought with the same tenacity that he showed here at the Gabba against England 7 years ago with a first innings century that ranks as one of his best. Here it was nudges and pushes and swivels, as he stood fast as his teammate dominated at the other end. As he approached his century, we finally saw the cover drive emerge, the one that flies across the outfield along the ground, piercing the gap in the field to the boundary - the one always indicates that Smith is getting back to his best. A rare celebration on reaching three figures told how much this meant to him and how hard he had worked to get it. His disappointment at being dismissed shortly after showed he knew he'd left some runs out there, but perhaps also that there are more to come this series.

With the new ball taken India - or at least Bumrah - made some incisions, but the second best in form batter in the Australian line-up Alex Carey looked superb, and guided Australia past 400 by stumps. He will be hoping his bowling cartel can hang in this morning to allow him to cash in more.

For India, problems await, but having watched Australia they will surely assess that if you can see off the new ball, batting becomes easier. Bumrah and Siraj were wonderful in the first session, but even they couldn't stop Head and Smith once the shine had dispersed. India will need to play the same way in order to keep themselves in this Test. If Australia can manage another 50 runs the follow-on will be a tough prospect, and even though no one enforces it anymore, perhaps having lost most of the first day will encourage Cummins to go for the throat if he gets that opportunity late on day three or early on day four. It would certainly make for entertaining viewing.