 "The Optus Stadium had been inaugurated in January, 2018 and hosted its first Test in December later that year when India came visiting. AFP")
Less than a week remains for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy to get underway, with the first of five Tests set to commence on Friday, 22 November. The upcoming series will be the first five-Test affair between Australia and India in more than three decades and will be one of the toughest Test assignments for the Indian team in recent memory.
Australia are, after all, the reigning world Test champions and currently find themselves at the top of the ladder as far as the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle is concerned.
India, on the other hand, complicated their chances of directly qualifying for the WTC final for the third consecutive time after suffering a 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home recently. The Rohit Sharma-led side currently find themselves needing to beat Australia by a 4-0 margin or better in order to qualify without needing other results to go their way.
The marquee Test series against India currently is Australia’s only red-ball assignment this home summer, with Cummins and Co set to travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests and an ODI early next year. And as has been the case with the Australian ‘Summer of Cricket’ in recent years, the first Test will be hosted at Perth, and not Brisbane as was the tradition in the preceding decades.
Why Perth, and not Brisbane, is hosting the first Test of the 2024-25 Australian home summer?
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, a.k.a. ‘The Gabba’ has been something of a Test fortress for the Australians and the venue used to traditionally host the first Test of the home summer, including and especially in The Ashes where the Aussies would typically set the tone for the remainder of the series with a victory. Australia were also undefeated in Tests at that venue for a period of 32 years and two months until the three-wicket loss at the hands of the spirited Indian team in January, 2021.
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The Perth Stadium, known as the Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, had been inaugurated in January 2018 and would host its first Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December. However, it would not be until the two-Test series against West Indies in the 2022-23 season that the venue, which replaced the iconic WACA Ground as Perth’s primary Test venue, finally replaced Gabba as the host of the first Test of the summer.
The Adelaide Oval had hosted the opening Test in each of India’s last two visits while Brisbane had last kickstarted the Aussie summer during the 2021-22 Ashes. Additionally, Gabba will not be hosting an Ashes opener for the first time since England’s trip Down Under in the 1982-83 season, with Perth set to host the first Test of the 2025-26 edition according to the scheduled unveiled by Cricket Australia.
One of the possible reasons behind the shift of the first Test of the Australian ‘Summer of Cricket’ to Perth is the uncertainty Gabba faces as far as its own future is concerned. Brisbane has been awarded the hosting rights for the 2032 Olympics and the iconic cricket stadium will reportedly undergo redevelopment ahead of the mega event.
Additionally, the Australian team has won all four Tests played at the Perth Stadium and are happy to consider it as their new fortress and play the first Test of the home summer at this venue.
Perth also produces pace-friendly pitches that offer good carry and bounce. Starting the Test series from Perth can also be an Australian strategy to put India under early pressure by attacking them with ruthless pace as Indian pitches are way slower in comparison and Indian batters are not accustomed to playing on such fast pitches.
What can the two teams expect from other venues in the upcoming series?
While Perth and Brisbane host the first and the third Tests in the upcoming India-Australia Test series, with the Rohit Sharma-led visitors hoping to collect two wins in as many outings at the latter venue, Adelaide will hosting the second Test starting 6 December in what will be a day-night match.
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval has been Australia’s preferred venue for day-night Tests and it was here that India were shockingly bowled out for 36 , their lowest Test total ever, in the 2020-21 edition of the BGT. And given how the pink ball moves far more prodigiously than the red one, especially under lights, India can expect another stiff challenge at this venue after they travel east from Perth.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a happy hunting ground for the Indian team, who had won at this venue in each of their last two visits and will be eyeing a hat-trick of victories in the Boxing Day Test next month. The ‘G’ has been favourable venue for pacers in recent years, with fast bowlers averaging 24.50 at this venue since the 2018-19 BGT – second only to their numbers at The Gabba in the same period.
Sydney Cricket Ground
The wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the traditional host of the New Year’s Test, is one where spinners have found a lot more support as the match wore on than in other venues. The SCG, however, has been relatively balance in favour of seamers as well as spinners in recent Tests.
India had collected a draw in each of their last two Tests at this venue – due to rain in 2019 and thanks to a defiant block-a-thon by Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin two years later.