India to have two-day day-night warm-up ahead of Adelaide Test
The tourists will face the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra using the pink ball as preparation for the floodlit Test
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Aug-2024
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented players with caps in last year's match • Getty Images
India will have a two-day pink-ball warm-up match ahead of the day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide when they face the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.
The floodlit fixture will take place on November 30 and December 1 at Manuka Oval in the gap between the first and second Tests.
In the last two seasons the Prime Minister's XI fixture has a four-day contest featuring West Indies in 2022 (which was also a day-night game) and Pakistan in 2023, having traditionally been a limited-overs match, but the India game has been trimmed to just two days.
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On their previous tour of Australia in 2020-21, India lost the day-night Test in Adelaide by eight wickets when they were bundled out for their lowest Test score of 36 in the second innings but famously came back to win the series 2-1 with an historic display in Brisbane.
On that occasion Adelaide was the opening Test of a four-match series - which was completed despite the challenges of Covid-19 border closures - whereas this time the series will begin in Perth and includes five Tests.
Overall India have played just four day-night Tests, with their most recent in 2022 against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru, while Australia have featured in 12 (all at home) with last season's eight-run loss to West Indies in Brisbane their first defeat against the pink ball.
In recent seasons the Prime Minister's XI has been a strong side which has effectively been an Australia A team. Matt Renshaw has had a particularly profitable time in the last two fixtures with scores of 81, 101 not and 136 not out against West Indies and Pakistan.
However, last season's pitch at Manuka Oval came in for criticism from Pakistan when it was very slow and low and did not provide ideal preparation for the Test in Perth although poor weather had made life difficult for the groundstaff. The final day of the game was abandoned after an overnight storm and ripped off the covers.
India have an intra-squad warm-up at the WACA from November 15-18 ahead of the first Test on November 22. They will arrive in Australia on the back of a three-match home Test series against New Zealand.
An India A squad will tour Australia from late October and play two four-day matches in Mackay and Melbourne.