Australia face India in tri series - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Australia face India in tri series

By Adam Cooper 26/10/2003 05:25:25 AM Comments (0)

The small Indian city of Gwalior will come alive when India play Australia in a day-night tri-series cricket match.

Gwalior has a population of about 800,000, comparatively small against other Indian cities, and has not hosted an international match for four years.

But as it's the first time these sides have played since Australia's 125-run win in the World Cup final, the game was sold out well in advance.

It should also be an occasion for the 35,000-strong crowd, as the match will be played during India's Diwali festival, one of the highlights of the Hindu calendar.

That means there could be fireworks both on the ground and in the stands.

Australia is likely to bat should it win the toss on what should be a low, slow traditional pitch and try and seize the initiative early like it did in the World Cup final.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting could also be swayed by the heavy dew that settles on the ground in the second innings, after the sun sets.

"We did notice there was a fair bit of dew out on the ground (at night) so that's going to have a bit of an effect on the game I'd imagine and it will probably weigh on both captain's minds at the toss," Ponting said.

India will finalise its side on Sunday, but is expected to retain the same team that played New Zealand in Thursday's rained-out match in Chennai.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Brad Williams, Nathan Bracken.

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

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