Team India begins preparations for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket team has begun its preparations for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Friday. The four-match Test series between India and Australia is scheduled to start from February 9, when the two top-ranked Test sides meet at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
India batters Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav were among the players seen undergoing batting practice in the nets in the pictures shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its social media accounts.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was deemed fit to feature in the series after playing a Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu, was also seen padding up and having a hit with the bat.
“#TeamIndia have begun their preparations for the Border Gavaskar Trophy ahead of the 1st Test in Nagpur,” BCCI wrote as the caption while sharing the pictures.

The visiting team, Australia, is currently training at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where they are practicing on custom-made wickets from Thursday, which they feel will be dished out for four matches in the series.
Australia and India, currently ranked number one and two respectively in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, will meet in a highly-anticipated four-match series to be held in Nagpur, New Delhi, Dharamshala and Ahmedabad.

India are the current holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having won the last three series against Australia in 2017, 2018-19 and 2020-21. India have hosted Australia in 14 Test series and hold an 8-4 lead, with two of the series being drawn.
A 4-0 series win for India would help them attain a points percentage of 68.06, which is likely to be enough for a crucial top-two finish in the WTC standings, while Australia are well-placed to qualify for the final to be held in June regardless of the series result in India.
(With inputs from IANS)