Cricket: Play halted due to bad light at Gabba with India 267 runs away from victory

India were at eight for no loss when tea was called early due to fading light on day five of the third test against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday. With the tourists requiring 267 runs for victory, the match was finely poised as the players headed to the break.

Captain Pat Cummins declared Australia's second innings closed at 89 for seven to give India an improbable 275-run victory target as dark clouds gathered near the Gabba.

Cummins and fellow pacer Mitchell Starc had bowled only 2.1 overs at the Indian openers before play was halted.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was four not out, with KL Rahul also on four.

Australia bowled out India for 260 after scoring a first innings 445, with rain blighting the match throughout.

After capturing India's final wicket in the first hour on day five, Australia led by 185 runs but rain denied them a bat until after lunch.

In search of quick runs, Australia crashed to 33 for five as Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah removed the top four for single-digit scores, a day after the pacemen combined in a brave 10th-wicket partnership to ensure India would avoid the follow-on.

Travis Head and Alex Carey briefly stemmed the bleeding with a 27-run partnership before Head top-edged Mohammed Siraj to be out for 17.

Cummins slogged 22 off 10 balls before becoming Bumrah's third wicket and declared five balls later.

Australia's hopes of forcing a result remain hostage to the weather but their chances of victory are already wafer thin given their attack is a man down.

Pace stalwart Josh Hazlewood is out of action after succumbing to a calf injury, while there are concerns about all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's fitness after he bowled only two overs in the match.

The five-test series is level at 1-1.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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