As the Indo-Australian war continue, there has been a change in the itinerary as the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala that was deemed to host the third Test of the series has been deemed as unfit for action and will not be hosting the fixture. BCCI announced Indore’s Holkar Stadium as the new venue for the third Test of the series.
BCCI issued a statement owing to the sudden change of the venue, adding, “Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully.”
In what one would call a stroke of fate, India vanquished Australia in 2016/17 at the HPCA Stadium to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when the latter toured India for the last time. It was a special showdown from Kuldeep Yadav who had a phenomenal Test debut. India had s shocking start to the series as Australia secured a staggering win by 333 runs in the series opener.
However, India was shortly back on track as they levelled the series in Bengaluru before tying the Ranchi Test followed by a staggering win in Dharamsala to lift the hallowed silverware.
The match still remains the only Test to have been hosted by HPCA but the stadium has hosted 5 ODIs and 11 T20Is so far. Talking about Indore’s Holkar Stadium, the final ODI between India and New Zealand was hosted in the venue wherein a total of 3 Test matches has so far been played.
Throwing in some quick context about the series, India inflicted a resounding defeat upon Australia after a brilliant showdown from their bowlers in both the innings. There was some serious challenge that the Indian batters faced but they were shortly back on track, thanks to a match-defining display from their tail featuring Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Mohammed Shami before Rohit Sharma hammered an impeccable knock at the top of the innings.
With the fate of the WTC final hanging in the balance, India will have to secure at least three wins in the tournament and avert any defeat at all, if possible.
