The Indian team has reached Brisbane, where the visitors will play the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against hosts Australia — beginning December 14 at the Gabba.
The BCCI shared a video of the team travelling from Adelaide to Brisbane.
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India lost the second Test, which was a pink-ball match played under lights, by 10 wickets inside three days. It allowed Australia to level the five-Test series at 1-1, after India took the lead with a 295-run victory in the opener at Perth.
Top-order batters from both the teams can expect to be tested by the traditional bounce and carry in the Gabba track. However, on their last tour in 2020-21, India registered a famous win to end Australia’s unbeaten run at the venue since 1988.
The victory, which saw a sensational knock from Rishabh Pant, helped India win the series to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
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One difference between India’s 2021 victory and the upcoming match is that the upcoming match will be played early in the Australian summer, which can have an effect on the track. The 2021 match was played in January.
According to the pitch curator David Sandurski, the Gabba track is fresh when used earlier in the summer, i.e., before Christmas, as compared to the month of January.
“Different times of year definitely makes it different, it can be a slightly different pitch,” pitch curator Sandurski told Australian Associated Press (AAP). “Pitches later in the season might have a bit more wear and tear while ones early in the season usually are a bit fresher and might have a bit more in them.”
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“Generally speaking we still prepare the pitch the exact same way every time to try and get the same good carry, pace and bounce that the Gabba is known for,” Sandurski added. “We are just trying to make a traditional Gabba wicket like we do each year.”
According to the AAP report, there have been only five Tests hosted at the Gabba after Christmas, and Australia have lost three of those, including two in the last three years — against India in 2021 and against the West Indies this year. Both the games were played in January.
In contrast, the 61 Tests played before Christmas have seen Australia losing just seven times.
