Rain stops play with Australia 21/1 after Siraj dismisses Warner

Young India pacer Mohammed Siraj dismissed returning David Warner to leave Australia at 21 for one before rain stopped play barely seven overs into first day of third Test in Sydney on Thursday.

home team batted only 7.1 overs when play was interrupted at Sydney Cricket Ground. Siraj sent back Warner (5) when he h seasoned opener caught behind by Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip in fourth over, giving India ir first breakthrough before heavens opened up.

At break, debutant Will Pucovski and Marnus Labuschagne were batting on 14 and 2, respectively. players ran off field as a shower arrived from where, forcing groundsmen to cover pitch as well as square with rain getting heavier.

Making a return after a long injury layoff, Warner showed intensity in first few overs but got carried away with it as he chased a wide Siraj delivery. Barring a couple of uncomfortable moments against shorter balls, Pucovski has looked solid in middle.

Earlier, Australia won toss and opted to bat in third and penultimate match of four-match series.

Rohit Sharma returned to Indian playing XI in place of Mayank Agarwal, while pacer Navdeep Saini was handed a Test debut, replacing an injured Umesh Yav.

For Australia, Warner came back into team with Pucovski making his debut at expense of Travis He.

series is tied at 1-1. 

(Im credits: Twitter/@BCCI)