Team India will prepare for the eagerly awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will feature four Test matches against the formidable Australians, after an impressive start to the new year with ODI and T20I series victories against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Beginning on February 9, the series’ opening game will be played at Nagpur’s Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
Team India will once again try to extend their winning streak after taking home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy three times in a row, including back-to-back series victories in Australia. They also hope to secure a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) championship game for the second time in a row.
Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, two of the Rohit Sharma-led team’s stars, will be absent for the duration of the series, but Ravindra Jadeja, an all-rounder, will be welcomed back with open arms.
On the other hand, Australia appears to be fully prepared, especially to neutralise the threat that the Indian spinners are likely to pose to them. The loss of seasoned pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who will be unavailable for at least the first Test, has already dealt them a severe blow.
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium Pitch Report
After more than five years, the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur will host its first Test match; the most recent one was in November 2017 between India and Sri Lanka.
With the new ball being hard, the fresh wicket will favour the pacers. But as the pitch starts to deteriorate as the days progress and the spinners are likely to take control of the action right away. Read More: World Test Championship Final 2021–2024 Dates & Location Announced by ICC
The batters will probably have fun during the first innings and try to score as many runs as they can while the wicket maintains its natural bounce. In 20 Test innings here, teams have only surpassed 500 runs three times. The captain who wins the toss is likely to choose to bat first on this surface, despite the fact that in the six previous Tests played here, teams batting first and second have each won an equal number of games.
New VCA Stadium Test Stats
| Total Matches | 5 |
| Matches Won 1st Batting | 2 |
| Matches won 2nd Batting | 2 |
| Average 1st Innings Scores | 345 |
| Average 2nd Innings Scores | 418 |
| Average 3rd Innings Scores | 261 |
| Average 4th Innings Scores | 209 |
| Highest Score Recorded | 610/6 (176.1 Ov) by IND vs SL |
| Lowest Score Recorded | 166/10 (49.3 Ov) by SL vs IND |
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