Last Update: February 03, 2023, 15:59 IST
Cheteshwar Pujara (foreground) and Virat Kohli sweating it out in the nets. (Pic credit: BCCI)
The first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia will be played in Nagpur from February 9.
Less than a week left for the cricket world to turn its attention to Vidarbha Cricket Nagpur’s Association Stadium where two fierce opponents India And Australia will start writing a new chapter in their old rivalry. Pat Cummins-led Australia arrive in India as the world’s top-ranked Test team and will be aiming to wrap up their first series win in the country since 2004.
The likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have already started practicing in Bengaluru with the tourists coming in Ashwin-clone to aid their preparations. Ravichandran Ashwin has been the bane of Australia on Indian soil and is expected to be a major threat to their dreams of conquering the final frontier.
The Indian team, on the other hand, has had a short break after starting their calendar year with a heavy dose of limited-overs cricket, with their players playing six ODIs and as many T20Is in a span of a month.
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Some were rested from T20Is to keep them fresh for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while some of them were absent due to personal commitments.
The Test team has started assembling in Nagpur and the team is conducting its first net session on Friday as the BCCI shared pictures of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul and a fit-again Ravindra Jadeja flashing their bat.
“#TeamIndia has started its preparations for the Border Gavaskar Trophy ahead of the first Test in Nagpur,” the BCCI announced via its Twitter handle on Friday afternoon.
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The last time India played a Test was during the tour of Bangladesh last month, where they made a 2-0 clean sweep in testing conditions. The Rohit Sharma-led side will aim to continue the good work but are aware of the tough challenge Australia will pose.
The second Test will start in Delhi from February 17, the third in Dharamshala from March 1, while the fourth will start in Ahmedabad from March 9.
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