The Gabba's floodlights pierced a brooding Brisbane sky Friday as India wrapped their innings at 167/8 in the series decider, with Shubman Gill's gritty 46 anchoring a middle-order wobble amid Abhishek Sharma's charmed life—dropped twice before holing out for 25. Washington Sundar, the off-spin wizard, snared 3-28 to jolt Australia's top order, leaving them 47/0 after 4 overs in pursuit, but dark clouds and a 60% rain chance threaten a Duckworth-Lewis twist. "We set a fighting total—now it's about the ball biting," skipper Suryakumar Yadav said at the drinks break, towel over his shoulder.
Eyewitnesses in the 35,000-strong stands buzzed as Gill, dropped on 12, flicked Cummins for boundaries that echoed Australia's 2021 capitulation. Local fan Tom Reilly, nursing a beer under the Western Stand, groaned: "Indians are jinxing us again— that drop on Sharma was criminal." In Mumbai's Marine Drive pubs, where dawn-watchers crammed Hotstar streams, cheers erupted for Rinku Singh's quick 18, but boos rained for the rain radar flashing on apps.
Play halted briefly at 2:15 PM IST for a 10-minute drizzle, umpires scanning skies as groundstaff hovered with covers. Australia's openers, Head and Konstas, attacked with 10 runs off the first over, but Sundar's arm-ball trapped Konstas LBW—challenging DRS upheld the call, silencing the baggy greens' huddle. Gill, promoted to open, fell to Zampa's googly, sparking a collapse where Axar Patel's 22 off 15 clawed back momentum.
Social feeds exploded: #IndVsAusDecider topped with 2 million tweets, fans dissecting Sharma's luck—"Butterfingers Aussies!" quipped Delhi's Rajat Mehra, 28, glued to his phone mid-commute. Weather apps predicted 5 mm showers, potentially capping Australia's chase if interrupted. Yadav, eyeing the horizon: "We've got wickets in bank—rain or shine, we hunt." As thunder rumbled, the decider dangled, hearts in mouths from Gabba to Gully Cricket.
