India's Adelaide Test Preparation Disrupted by Rain, One-Day Match Scheduled

Canberra, November 30, 2024 – India’s preparations for the upcoming second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia have been affected by rain. The first day of their practice match against the Prime Minister's XI was abandoned on Friday due to bad weather. To make up for the lost time, both teams will now play a one-day match at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Sunday, hoping to get some practice before the Adelaide Test, which starts on December 6.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, who missed the first Test in Perth, were especially looking forward to this practice game. Rohit was away after the birth of his second child, while Gill missed the game due to a thumb injury.

Gill returned to practice in Canberra on Thursday and shared his recovery progress. "For the first couple of days, I was a bit disappointed. It was my first day back and I wanted to see how the injury was reacting," Gill said. "But it went much better than expected, and I'm happy with how it's healing."

The one-day match will give both teams a chance to practice with the pink ball, which India has used in only four matches, the last one being in March 2022 against Sri Lanka. The match schedule is as follows:

• First innings: 9:20 AM to 12:40 PM IST

• Innings break: 12:40 PM to 1:10 PM IST

• Second innings: 1:10 PM to 4:40 PM IST

The Prime Minister's XI squad features players like captain Jack Edwards, Scott Boland, and Matthew Renshaw, while India’s squad includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Despite the rain setbacks, both teams are hopeful that Sunday’s match will give them the preparation they need before the all-important second Test in Adelaide.