Australia and India: A Duel at Adelaide Oval Amidst the Pandemic
In a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India prepare to face each other on the same stage where their last encounter began in 2018: the majestic Adelaide Oval. The presence of the old scoreboard and the iconic Moreton Bay trees to the north of the field evoke the tradition of test cricket and will serve as a backdrop for the teams of Tim Paine and Virat Kohli in the first day/night Test for India away from home.
This clash between two of cricket’s most powerful nations promises to be memorable, surpassing even previous encounters in the last 20 years. The very realization of the series is a significant achievement.
Despite the financial forces driving the 12 test series between Australia and India since 1999, a number similar to the Ashes series of Australia against England in the same period, participants and spectators have faced uncertainty about the viability of the series.
During the critical months of March, April and May, when the sports world stopped, the possibility of canceling the series was real. Recently, the challenges focused on overcoming the obstacles to its realization, despite the goodwill between Cricket Australia and the BCCI.
For Cricket Australia, the support of the Indian administrators and players was crucial. The main challenges for CA’s interim chief executive, Nick Hockley, and chairman Earl Eddings, were finding an entry point for the visiting team’s charter plane. After initially considering Perth and Brisbane, the series was finally established in Sydney, Canberra and the New South Wales government, with the support of the SCG Trust. Negotiations with the Queensland government were tense.
Even after the arrival of the Indians, a Covid outbreak in Adelaide threatened the series. Adelaide Oval was scheduled to host at least one test, or even two, due to restrictions in Melbourne. However, an outbreak in South Australia forced a reconsideration of the schedule, considering a day/night test at the MCG and a traditional game starting December 26th.
Damian Hough, curator of Adelaide Oval, who has managed rock concerts and changes of football matches, prepared a pitch for the test match. “What we have learned with Covid is to live more in the present,” said Hough. “We had plans, but we had to adapt to the moment.” Hough highlighted that a U2 concert was a greater challenge than the current situation. “It’s a unique year,” he added. “We are fortunate to be able to offer Australia training in the center of the pitch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and it seems to have gone very well. We have the recipe that works… we simply stick to the game plan.”
The sessions in the center court represent a competitive advantage for Australian players, especially those who arrived before the team that played for Australia A against the Indians on a different court at the SCG. Tim Paine affirmed this advantage.Virat Kohli and Tim Paine, ready for the face-off.Paine commented: “We were lucky enough to get to Adelaide early. We trained three nights in a row in the middle of the pitch at the Adelaide Oval, which I think will be a big advantage for our team. It’s the most difficult thing about a pink-ball Test; you usually get it once a year. Sometimes with a Shield match, this time without one. So you learn on the go, in real time, when you go out on the field.”
“We try to adapt to conditions that are so strange to us, with the lights on and a pink ball. So it’s strange. But we’ve managed to spend three nights in the middle of the pitch at the Adelaide Oval, which has been fantastic for our group, batsmen and bowlers, to get a feel for what it’s like again. Reviving your memory of last year is going to be a big advantage for us tomorrow.”
Kohli’s adaptation, who did not play in the warm-up match at the SCG, will be crucial for the result in Adelaide. Furthermore, this is Kohli’s only test match in the series, before Ajinkya Rahane takes over the captaincy in the remaining three matches.
With players like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon, the Australians have been successful in dismissing Kohli early in the previous two series. Paine highlighted that Kohli is one of the best players in the world and that his team has plans to face him. “We have plans that have worked well against him in the past; hopefully, they work early enough this week, but if not, we have a couple of different plans. The good thing about our attack is that everyone is different, we also have Nathan Lyon and now you add Greeny, we have some different angles, some different speeds and, obviously, Nathan’s spin, as well as Marnus’, so we have many different options to bowl at him if he gets in and settles.”
Paine, who values his test career, shows no fatigue from the bubble. “No, not at all. I love it, to be honest,” Paine said. “I don’t think this bubble has been as strict as the IPL or England’s. I sleep very well at night; my children are at home, which is good in a way, but I certainly miss them. But I sleep better here and feel fresher here than at home, so life in the bubble might make me play longer if anything.”
The events of 2020 have ensured that this last chapter is as vivid as any sporting competition, at a time when many around the world remain confined by the pandemic.
