Australia vs India: Cricket match in Adelaide, a respite after a chaotic year

Australia and India clash in Adelaide: A duel of giants in uncertain times

In a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India prepare for a new confrontation at the Adelaide Oval, the same venue where their previous series began in 2018. The familiar sight of the scoreboard and the iconic Moreton Bay trees provide a sense of continuity, an essential element in Test cricket, which will serve as the backdrop for the teams led by Tim Paine and Virat Kohli in India’s first day/night Test away from home. This encounter between two of the most powerful cricket nations promises to be memorable, especially after a year with significant challenges. The series itself is a triumph, considering the difficulties both sides faced. From March to May, the world of sports was paralyzed. The uncertainty about the series’ realization was constant, despite the goodwill between Cricket Australia and the BCCI. CA’s interim chief executive Nick Hockley and chairman Earl Eddings had to overcome obstacles, such as finding a port of entry for the charter plane carrying the Indian team. Initial plans to land in Perth were changed to Adelaide, then to Brisbane, before Sydney, Canberra, the New South Wales government and the SCG Trust finally took the lead. Negotiations with the Queensland government were tense and ultimately unsuccessful. Even after the arrival of the Indians, a Covid outbreak in Adelaide could have changed the course of the series. For a long time, the Adelaide Oval was scheduled to host at least one and possibly two Tests, given the prolonged quarantine Melbourne faced for most of the year. Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough has had to adapt to various events, and this year he has prepared a Test pitch with a Christmas parade instead of the Sheffield Shield matches.

“One thing we’ve learned with Covid is to be more in the present,” Hough said. “We like to plan months in advance. We still had plans, but we had to live in the moment a little more.”

Damian Hough

Training sessions in the center of the field are a competitive advantage for the Australians, something that Paine did not hesitate to highlight.

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“We were fortunate enough to get here early in Adelaide,” he said. “We trained three nights in a row in the middle of the Adelaide Oval outfield, which I think will be a huge advantage for our team. It’s the most difficult thing about the Test with the pink ball; you normally get it once a year. Sometimes with a Shield match, this time without one. So you’re learning on the go, in real time, when you go out on the field.” Kohli’s adjustment, who did not participate in the warm-up match at the SCG, will be crucial. Furthermore, this will be Kohli’s only Test 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 succeeded in dismissing Kohli early in the previous two series.

“Everyone has big plans to get the best players out, don’t they?, but that’s why they are the best, they can adapt, they can change with what you are doing, and Virat is certainly one of the best players, if not the best player in the world,” Paine said.

Tim Paine

Paine, who values his test career more than most, doesn’t feel bubble fatigue at the moment, and believes that life in the bubble could even lengthen his time at the top of the game. While there may have been some fatigue from the frequency of encounters between India and Australia in recent years, the events of 2020 have ensured that this latest chapter is as vibrant as any sporting competition, especially when many around the world remain confined by the pandemic.