India vs Australia: MCG to host Boxing Day Test as CA announce fixtures for Virat Kohli and Co's tour Down Under

Sydney: Cricket Australia on Wednesday confirmed that India will play a four-Test series on their upcoming tour Down Under, with the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosting the second Test on 26 December. The announcement came hours after Australia’s second largest city exited a months-long coronavirus lockdown which enabled the MCG to confirm it would stage its traditional Boxing Day Test. [caption id=“attachment_8959021” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Pandemic permitting, the India squad will arrive on 12 November and complete quarantine and Covid protocols before the first of three one-day internationals on 27 November. AFP[/caption] The battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin with India’s first day-night Test in Australia at the Adelaide Oval on 17 December, followed by Melbourne before moving to the Sydney Cricket Ground on 7 January with the tour finale at Brisbane’s Gabba on 15 January. Neither side have lost a day-night Test previously, with the Australian men’s team winning all four pink-ball Tests in Adelaide against New Zealand, South Africa, England and Pakistan, and India winning their only encounter at Eden Gardens versus Bangladesh in 2019. “Australia and India represents one of the great rivalries in world sport and we are delighted to welcome Virat Kohli’s outstanding squad to Australian shores this summer,” Nick Hockley of Cricket Australia said. Pandemic permitting, the India squad will arrive on 12 November and complete quarantine and Covid protocols before the first of three one-day internationals on 27 November. After three 50-over games and three Twenty20s in Sydney and Canberra the tour will move to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for the Tests. Dates for the tour had been delayed by a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne and wrangling over quarantine requirements. India tour to Australia* One-day international series: 27 November – 1st ODI (Sydney, day-night) 29 November – 2nd ODI (Sydney, day-night) 2 December – 3rd ODI (Canberra, day-night) Twenty 20 international series: 4 December – 1st T20 (Canberra, night) 6 December – 2nd T20 (Sydney, night) 8 December – 3rd T20 (Sydney, night) Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series 17-21 December – 1st Test (Adelaide Oval, day-night) 26-30 December – 2nd Test (Melbourne) 7-11 January – 3rd Test (Sydney) 15-19 January – 4th Test (Brisbane) *Matches and travel remain subject to any relevant government restrictions or requirements.