Cricket-Perth to kick off India’s blockbuster test tour of Australia

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Perth will host the opener of the blockbuster five-test Australia-India series in November, which will conclude with the traditional New Year’s test in Sydney, Cricket Australia said on Tuesday.

The teams’ first five-test series in over 30 years will kick off on Nov. 22 at Perth Stadium, where Virat Kohli’s India were well beaten in their only previous visit to the stadium in 2018.

The second match of the series will be a day-night test in Adelaide from Dec. 6, with Brisbane to host the third at the Gabba from Dec. 14 and Melbourne to stage the fourth match in the traditional ‘Boxing Day’ slot from Dec. 26.

Australia, who thrashed India in last year’s 50-overs World Cup final, have not beaten the South Asians in a home test series since 2014-15, losing both the 2018-19 and 2020-21 contests.

Cricket Australia also published its schedule for the Women’s Ashes between Australia and England, which starts on Jan. 12 with an ODI in Sydney.

The Ashes wraps up with a one-off, day-night test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Jan. 30, the first pink ball international at the stadium.