Australia to play tour game in Mumbai

Australia will begin their tour of India with a warm-up game in Mumbai, instead of Hyderabad as was originally scheduled. According to a Reuters report, the venue was changed after officials from Cricket Australia voiced their dissatisfaction with the facilities at the Uppal Stadium, a newly constructed venue in Hyderabad. Australia, who were supposed to play a Board President's XI team there, will now take on Mumbai, the Ranji Trophy champions, in a three-day game at the Brabourne Stadium.

Speaking about the change in the itinerary, SK Nair, the BCCI secretary, clarified that though the board thought the venue would be ready in time for the game, it opted to play it safe. The dates remain the same though - September 30 to October 2.

This will be the third time in succession that Australia will play Mumbai on their tour to India. Their two earlier instances haven't been happy ones. In 1997-98, Sachin Tendulkar blitzed an unbeaten 204 to help Mumbai win, while in 2000-01, Mumbai had the better of a drawn game after taking the first innings lead.