Australia Contemplating Forfeiting 2nd Innings to Secure Result in Gabba Test; India Still Facing Uncertain Future With Various Scenarios on Horizon

"Bumrah and Akash will walk out to bat on Day 5 with India's score at 252/9, still trailing by 193 runs. Australia, missing a key bowler in Josh Hazlewood, will be looking to quickly wrap up the Indian innings and gain a substantial lead on the final day of the Test match. With three possible outcomes – a win for Australia, a draw, or a highly unlikely India victory – the suspense is high as rain is also predicted for Day 5. However, if the weather holds up, fans can expect a thrilling and unpredictable game to unfold at the Gabba."

One scenario involves a bold and daring move: Will Cummins be adventurous enough to forfeit their second innings to force a result? However, an ever bigger question is, do the laws of the game allow it?

Firstly. Yes, it does. A captain is allowed to make such a call. Law 15.2 of the MCC Rule Book deals with the forfeiture of an inning and states, "A captain may forfeit either of his/her side’s innings at any time before the commencement of that innings. A forfeited innings shall be considered to be a completed innings."

For example, if Australia dismisses either Akash or Bumrah on the first ball of Day 5, Australia's lead would be 193. Then, if Cummins decides to forfeit the innings, India would have to bat again, and their target would just be 194. If this does happen, India can walk away with an unlikely victory, as chasing 194 should be within the visitors' grasp. But then again, will Cummins take that risk?

Realistically, Cummins and the Australian management would not want it as a target of 194 would be well within the vicinity of the visitors and one they would happily go after.

A total of 98 overs can be bowled on the final day, weather permitting. Australia will look to take the final wicket as soon as possible when they take the field on Day 5. The hosts would then hope to add some quick runs possible to take the game forward and put pressure on the visitors.

India's top order has been under pressure since the start of the series, and Kohli, Rohit, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (barring the 161 at Perth) do not have enough runs. But even with an under-fire batting line-up, you would assume that Australia will at least need a little more than two sessions to bundle out the visitors, who won the Gabba Test last time around during the 2020-21 tour.

Cummins and his team would ideally want to give India a target of at least 270-300 and ask them to bat out 60 overs. However, this does bring India into the game, as scoring at a rate of 5 runs per over is not unimaginable these days.

However, with the likes of Kohli, Rohit, Gill and Jaiswal feeling the heat, it is unlikely that India would look to go after the win and the visitors would happily take a draw, considering the happiness that was visible on the faces of the Indian think tank when Akash hit a four over gully to avoid the follow-on.

Lastly, what if India are chasing an underwhelming target after all. Let's say 190-odd? Well, as mentioned above, while this should land in India's pocket 9 out of ten times, don't rule out the one dreaded possibility. India is no stranger to batting collapses. For the past few months, the top order has shown little confidence, with no shortage of batting implosions. Who can forget the shambolic performance against New Zealand in Mumbai when the hosts, set a target of 147 runs, crashed and burned? India got bowled out for 121, losing the contest by 25 runs.

Hence, the ball is in Australia, as they are the ones dictating terms. But let's not forget that Josh Hazlewood ruled out for the rest of the match, Cummins and Mitchell Starc will be in for some heavy workload.

Considering the next Test at Melbourne starts in a week's time, Australia have everything to play for. If India manage to walk away with a draw, the series would be on level terms at 1-1 heading into the Boxing Day Test, which makes for an epic penultimate showdown between the two teams.