Day 1 of Mohali Test match washed out

The opening day of the third Test between India and Australia in Mohali, on Thursday, was abandoned because of rain.

A steady drizzle since early morning meant that the covers were in place throughout the day. A brief respite in between saw the groundstaff work relentlessly to get the playing area ready, but the rain resumed shortly at around 1130 IST thwarting all their efforts.

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The umpires carried out a few inspections but, in the end, were forced to call off play at 1300 hours.

Play  now start early on Day 2, at 0900 IST, to make up for the lost time.

India lead the four-match series 2-0 after winning the first and second Test in Chennai and Hyderabad respectively.

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The toss is yet to take place, but Australia have already announced their playing eleven for the match.

The visitors made three changes to their team, bringing back Nathan Lyon for Glenn Maxwell and Steven Smith for Shane Watson, who has gone back for Australia for the birth of his first child.

Brad Haddin will take over the wicketkeeping duties from Matthew Wade, who failed to recover from an injury.

For India, Shikhar Dhawan confirmed on Wednesday that he will make his Test debut, replacing Virender Sehwag as opener, while Cheteshwar Pujara is likely to play after recovering from a minor injury he sustained in the nets.

Australia starting XI: Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin, Moises Henriques, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Xavier Doherty.