Shifted from Dharamsala, third Ind-Aus Test to be played in Indore

That the match will be shifted was confirmed on Sunday itself after BCCI curator Taposh Chatterjee's report deemed the re-laid outfield as unfit for an international match

The only somewhat-chance Australia had of winning a Test on this tour to India was snatched away after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was moved out of Dharamsala and shifted to Indore on Monday.

The third of four Tests starts on March 1.

After multiple recces, it was decided that Dharamsala was not ready to host an international game, and rain over the last week or so only made matters worse.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s release claimed, “Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully.”

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The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association decided to relay the surface and install a new drainage system last year. The last game played at the venue was in February 2022.

The Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore has hosted a couple of Tests, and India won both of those games comfortably. While the pitch isn’t a rank turner, it has the tendency to turn into one as the days progress. At the start though, the pitch is expected to play evenly.

Also, R Ashwin has picked up 18 wickets from those two Tests and averages 12.50.

As for Dharamsala, although India won the only Test hosted in Dharamsala by eight wickets against the same opposition in 2017, the pitch had a little more in it for the pacers.

That of course didn’t stop the Indian trio of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav from picking up 12 wickets in the Test.

Besides Indore, Rajkot was also in the running, but the BCCI chose the former.