The BCCI announced on Monday that the third Test match between India and Australia will now take place in Indore. The change of venue happened due to concerns about the condition of the outfield at the original location, Dharamsala.
Earlier, Dharmashala was scheduled to host the third test
The people in charge of the cricket field in Dharamsala have made some changes to the ground. They wanted to host the 3rd match at the beautiful stadium surrounded by snow-covered mountains. But, they won’t be hosting the match now.
In its media release, BCCI quoted:
“The 3rd Test of the Mastercard Australia tour of India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, originally scheduled to take place at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala from 1st to 5th March has now been moved to Holkar Stadium, Indore.”
The release further added:
“Owing to harsh winter conditions in the region, the outfield lacks sufficient grass density and will need some time to develop fully.”
The BCCI looked at Indore and Rajkot as options for the 3rd Test. They checked the field at Dharamsala but found some bare spots. This was because the field was recently changed to add a new drainage system. No cricket had been played at Dharamsala since the two T20 matches between India and Sri Lanka a year ago.
The board chose Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium as the new venue for the 3rd Test. This stadium had hosted successful Tests before, including two Tests against New Zealand and Bangladesh which India won. R Ashwin has taken 18 wickets in two Tests at Indore, including 13 for 140 against New Zealand. Virat Kohli also scored 211 runs in that match.
India won the first Test and is leading the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They beat Australia, the best Test team in the world, by an inning and 132 runs. The next Test will start on February 17th in Delhi. The last Test will take place in Ahmedabad on March 9th.
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