Live: Rain interrupts opening day of the Gabba Test

Delay number two comes as the rain arrives not long after the cloud cover and the batters sprint off the field to protect their precious willow.

It’s immediately heavy and the ground staff waste no time getting the big covers on.

The Indian quick looks fired up and is really running through the crease.

The clouds are back as Nathan McSweeney leaves outside off. We need the rain to stay away for another half-hour until lunch.

But it isn’t…

Beaten. Khawaja in that classic Khawaja style is incredibly lucky not to nick off as he plays just inside the line of a ball that seams away and across him.

He gets one on his pads, but for once he doesn’t cash in, clipping the ball directly to Shubman Gill at mid-on.

Rohit Sharma has moved KL Rahul out of third slip and into cover. And Khawaja finds him with a drive.

Another push outside off and this one seams so far that Khawaja wasn’t even particularly close to getting any bat on it.

The pace and bounce from Akash is good as McSweeney shoulders arms.

Rishabh Pant is taking them up around his head.

Akash finds his pad and there’s some enthusiasm from behind the stumps (Virat Kohli never wanting for enthusiasm) but it was way too high and down leg.

Oh that looked better, but still too high. Really good start this from Akash.

Khawaja is on the hop and clipping a single wide of square leg.

McSweeney hasn’t spent a lot of time at this end, so Bumrah will be keen to get into his work against him here.

Gun-barrel straight at McSweeney’s thigh and the former Queensland Bull helps himself to an easy single off his thigh.

Oh, not so easy for Khawaja as a ball rips past his outside edge. That was wide and stayed wide, and Khawaja just hung the bat out at it. Would have been a hideous dismissal if he’d found the edge.

McSweeney shoulders arms to a ball coming back in at him and Akash is up for an appeal. The rest of the team, and this blogger, are quietly baffled. I think the ball flicked his pad but yeah, no. Not close.

Runs for McSweeney as he clips a ball off his hip.

Akash comes around the wicket to Khawaja, who whips a single off his toes to end the over.

Khawaja is staying watchful to Bumrah. Unlike McSweeney, he’s batting deep in his crease. And his feet are bolted to it too.

Bumrah gives him a bit of width and Khawaja plays it late, right under his eyes, on the square drive, but it’s straight to the point fielder.

Edged, but straight into the ground and it’s cleaned up by KL Rahul to end the over.

Nathan McSweeney is on strike, still batting a long way outside his crease. That’s usually a move to negate swing, but I haven’t seen much of it this morning.

Two tidy shots from McSweeney – a square drive and a dab towards third man – but both are mopped up. Fielders backing up their bowler.

Beaten. A nervous moment from McSweeney as he pushes hard at a cover drive that was there to be hit, but a bit of movement off the seam takes it just past the outside edge.

Nathan McSweeney turns one fine off his pads and Khawaja sneaks through for a single.

He’s starting his run-up, but Khawaja is looking around. In fairness to him, I think some fielders were still getting into position. I don’t think Bumrah appreciated that much.

Akash is warming up in the Deep as Khawaja leaves a ball alone outside off.

Usman Khawaja is on strike, and there’s a smattering of boos for Siraj as he charges in.

Bang! Siraj drops short and Khawaja wastes no time cracking a pull shot over the top of the leg side. He’s looking eager to take the attack to the bowlers, but he’s being gifted some easy scoring options. They need to stay off his pads and stop giving him short balls to pull and hook.

So that’s four minutes we have to wait, as India’s fielders, or at least a couple of them, go through some warm ups.

Anyway, Jon Healy has been warming up vigorously, so will take us through to lunch.

Just imagine what he could do with a willow instead of a notebook.

Cheers ring around the Gabba as, under semi-bright sunshine, the covers begin to be removed.

As my esteemed colleague Dean Bilton has just mentioned to me, this might be a tough passage for the umpires.

It’s the sort of day where we will get rain showers coming across frequently.

So, by the time they are satisfied that it’s no longer raining, by the time that decision has been made, it will be drizzling again.

It’s just sprinkling a little bit out there, but it has definitely got brighter out there in the last couple of minutes.

In fact, it almost looks like it’s stopped already.

But there is more behind it, which is a concern.

It’s taken 5.3 overs for the first rain shower of the day to interrupt proceedings.

The players aren’t sprinting off, but the rain does look relatively heavy.

The big cover is straight on as well, which is not a particularly pleasing sight.

The crowd booed, as you’d expect, but most of those that are not under cover are drifting onto the concourse.

The rain is falling as Siraj waits at the end of his mark.

We’ll play on for now…

McSweeney clips away off his pads for a single – but there was no shot offered so back he goes. It’s a dot.

Short, the ball flying past the outside of off stump.

McSweeney drops and runs into short midwicket and Khawaja is going to have to rush! He would have been home. Just, I think.

The rain is still falling – and it’s getting heavier too.

Now the umpires look at each other and call on the covers.

Siraj has made his way off the ground after that over. Was he limping his way off? A slight limp perhaps. He is getting his foot looked at.

Anyway, Bumrah sends the first down the leg side and then straightens up and has Khawaja defending as the clouds roll over again.

Too short from Bumrah, Khawaja leaps to avoid getting struck in the midriff but there was little danger there, his bat well up away from the ball.

Solid defence from Khawaja.

He defends into the leg side there as well. Nicely played.

The line is not good from Bumrah at the moment.

FOUR! Down the leg side, Khawaja swishes at the ball, tickles it on its way down to the rope.