Australia vs India Test series to start with day-night game in Adelaide: Report

Australia vs India Test series: The Test series between India and Australia Down Under later this year reportedly will start with a day-night Test in Adelaide.

India's tour of Australia 2020-21, which is expected to run for at least two months, will most likely kickstart with the limited-overs series: three ODIs in Brisbane followed by three T20Is in Adelaide, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo.

The pink-ball Test is scheduled to take place at the Adelaide Oval between Dec.17 and 21 and is still subject to final confirmation from the local state governments in Australia. While reports were suggesting that this year's Boxing Day Test is set to be moved away from Melbourne, the Cricinfo report has stated that the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the traditional Boxing Day Test (Dec.26-30). That will be followed by Tests in Sydney (Jan. 7-11), and at the Gabba, Brisbane (Jan. 15-19).

The Indian cricket team will travel directly from the UAE to Brisbane after the completion of IPL 2020 on Nov.10. Only a few players such as Cheteshwara Pujara and Hanuma Vihari are not currently in the UAE but are expected to join the rest of the squad towards the business end of the IPL. The players and support staff, who will reach UAE from India in November or later this month, will undergo the mandatory quarantine before the entire Indian contingent flies to Brisbane together.

It is understood that the ODs will be played between Nov. 25 and 30, while the T20Is have been scheduled to take place between Dec. 4 and 8. Virat Kohli-led India will play a warm-up pink-ball game in Adelaide before their maiden day-night Test overseas. The warm-up match will be an intra-squad game keeping in mind the public health guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While both Cricket Australia and the BCCI have internally agreed on the itinerary, the schedule has not been made official as yet because the home board is waiting for a final nod from the state governments in Australia.

The last time India toured Australia was during the 2018-19 season. At the end of the four-Test series, Kohli became the first-ever Asian captain to win a Test series Down Under with Team India beating the hosts 2-1. Even last time, the first Test was played at the Adelaide Oval, where India sealed the game by 34 runs. Tim Paine's Australia bounced back by clinching a massive 146-run victory in the second Test that was played in Perth. India won the Boxing-Day Test by 137 runs before the final Test in Sydney ended in a draw.

India's No. 3 batsman Pujara ended the Test series as the leading run-scorer, having scored 521 runs in seven innings at an average of 74.43. With 21 wickets, India's spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was the series' joint-leading wicket-taker along with Australia's spinner Nathan Lyon.