India Sets Day-Night Practice Ahead Of Pink-Ball Test In Adelaide Tour

The Indian cricket team is set to play a two-day day-night practice match in Adelaide this December. This warm-up game will precede the pink ball Test against Australia. Additionally, Rohit Sharma's squad will engage in a four-day intra-squad match at WACA in Perth from November 15 to 18.

During India's previous tour of Australia in 2020-21, the series began with a day-night pink-ball Test in Adelaide. India faced a significant defeat by eight wickets after recording their lowest Test score of 36 all-out in the second innings. However, under Ajinkya Rahane's leadership, India made a remarkable comeback to win the series 2-1.

The five-Test series will commence with the first Test in Perth (Optus) from November 22 to 26. Following this, India will face the Prime Minister's XI in a warm-up match from November 30 to December 1 in Canberra. The second Test, which is also a pink-ball Test, is scheduled for December 6 to December 10 in Adelaide.

The third Test will take place from December 14 to December 18 in Brisbane. The fourth Test, known as the Boxing Day Test, is slated for December 26 to December 30 in Melbourne. The final match of the series will be held from January 3 to January 7 in Sydney.

In addition to these matches, an India A squad will tour Australia starting late October. They are set to play two four-day matches in Mackay and Melbourne. It remains to be seen if any senior players will join this squad. Meanwhile, India has another three-Test series against New Zealand at home scheduled for October-November.

To help acclimatise to Australian conditions under floodlights, the day-night warm-up match has been strategically placed between the first and second Tests. This will be India's fifth pink ball Test and their first since facing Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022.

Notably, during the last tour, Virat Kohli returned to India after the pink-ball Test defeat to attend the birth of his first child. Despite this setback, India's historic win at Brisbane marked Australia's first Test defeat there in 32 years.

This upcoming series promises intense competition and opportunities for both teams to showcase their skills under varying conditions across different venues.