Guwahati: The city’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium is all set to host its first-ever one-day international in the new year, when India take on Sri Lanka in the first of the three-match ODI rubber on January 10.
A BCCI team is reportedly expected in the city on Jan. 1 to conduct an inspection of the stadium’s readiness to host a 50-over game. The stadium has hosted T20 Internationals to date and it last hosted a match between India and South Africa on 2 October 2022.
However, the location made headlines several times for all the wrong reasons. In 2020, the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka was washed away after water seeped onto the pitch despite a three-layer cover. And to make matters worse, ACA officials resorted to hair dryers, an iron, and battery-operated fans, among other things, in a futile attempt to dry up the surface.
In October 2022, the stadium once again made headlines for the wrong reasons after a snake slithered onto the field of play before being guarded by the groundsmen, halting play for about five minutes. A second stoppage followed in the second innings of the game against the Proteas when one of the four floodlight towers went off, stopping play for 18 minutes.
The series against the Sri Lankans will be followed by two more home series against New Zealand and Australia. While the Sri Lankans and the Kiwis will only play limited overs cricket on their respective tours, the Kangaroos will face the Indians in a four match test series followed by a three match ODI rubber.
India opens their home series against the Sri Lankans with a three-game T20I series, which begins January 3 in Mumbai, followed by games in Pune (January 5) and Rajkot (January 7). Both teams then move to Guwahati for the 50-over matches, starting with the first match on January 10, followed by matches in Kolkata (January 12) and Trivandrum (January 15) respectively.
The action then moves to a three match ODI series against New Zealand in which Hyderabad, Raipur and Indore will play the hosts. The second ODI on January 21 will be a big ODI for Raipur city as they will host their first international match. The opening ODI will be played on January 18, while the third match will be held on January 24. Team India will also play a three-match T20I series against New Zealand in Ranchi (January 27), Lucknow (January 29) and Ahmedabad (February). 1).
EASTMOJO PREMIUM
Help maintain honest journalism.
After finishing the series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the Indian team will compete for the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia in four Tests starting from February 9 in Nagpur. India will then play the next three Test matches in Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) & Ahmedabad (March 9-13). This will also be the last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a four-game test series.
The home series will then conclude with a three-match ODI series to be held in Mumbai (March 17), Vizag (March 19) and Chennai (March 22).
Read also | How bronze at the Asian Championships revived Ankushita Boro’s dreams
