BRISBANE: When only 80 deliveries are bowled in a day, the focus naturally shifts from the playing field to the stands. That is where the real party was happening at The Gabba on Saturday (December 14) as thousands – a mix of Australians and Indians – were eagerly waiting for the players to return after the first rain break. The light shower, early in the morning session, didn’t even force Rohit Sharma to go to the dressing room and the Indian skipper was happy to pace along the boundary ropes and then wait in the dugout area.
The spectators, meanwhile, started first of their many beer runs and ensured to carry the munchies along. They were clearly set for a long haul. It was a Saturday morning and many had come in large groups with their families and friends. But it was one gentleman towards the left of the Champions Room who caught everyone’s attention.

Stationed behind the live grill, he kept generously spraying the cooking oil to ensure the big load of sausages were aptly and constantly cooked. There was no stopping him. He was putting them on the plates at a rapid pace and was effortlessly juggling between the varieties of meat on offer.
Little did he know that the rain was only going to get heavier and no play would be possible for the remainder of the day. The rain, the beer, the sausages… they didn’t stop in Brisbane. As the rain didn’t relent, the chatter in the corporate boxes only grew louder and sips were soon replaced by chugs!

The man behind the grill was now operating in overtime mode but the visible smoke from his continuous cooking soon got overshadowed by the rain shower. Unfortunately, as did the cricket!
Everyone had come expecting a close contest between bat and ball. They wanted a Virat Kohli hundred, a Jasprit Bumrah fifer, Steve Smith’s return to form and a lot more. Some co-ordinated their dressing attires. Some chose to soak in the Christmas spirit with Santa Claus’ red-and-white. All, however, wanted cricket.

The forecast on the opening day did predict rain, but not many saw this long spell coming.
As evening set in, dark clouds remained in Brisbane and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the morning session is again affected by rain.
At the time of writing, there are about 12 hours to go for the scheduled start, which is 30 minutes earlier than the usual 10:20am local time (5:20am IST) start, but the more important bit is going to be restocking the meat, spraying oil for the grill and enough beers for the thousands who will return on Sunday – hoping for more cricket, more beer and more grills!