India vs Australia: PMs Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese celerate 75 years of cricketing relations – Watch

India
and
Australia
are
celebrating
75
years
of
friendship
through
cricket
and
the
prime
ministers
of
both
nations
were
present
at
the
world’s
biggest
cricket
stadium.

While
Albanese
presented
a
Baggy
Green
cap
to
Australia’s
stand-in
captain
Steve
Smith,
Modi
handed
over
a
special
cap
to
India
skipper
Rohit
Sharma.
Some
cultural
performances
were
also
held
at
the
venue
before
the
start
of
play
in
Ahmedabad.

Modi
and
Albanese
also
took
a
lap
of
honour
in
a
specially
designed
golf
cart.
It
was
the
same
golf
car
on
which
the
honourable
PM
Modi
had
also
taken
a
lap
of
honour
during
the
National
Games
2022
at
this
very
venue.

To
ensure
tight
security
at
the
venue
due
to
the
presence
of
two
VVIPs,
the
Special
Protection
Group
(SPG)
took
charge
of
the
stadium.

One
can
expect
a
record
100,000
people
to
turn
up
on
the
opening
day
of
the
Test
match,
which
would
beat
maximum
attendance
at
the
Eden
Gardens
(88,000-90,000)
during
Christmas
Test
matches
before
its
capacity
got
reduced
to
67,000.

Meanwhile,
India
made
one
change
with
Mohammed
Shami
making
a
return
to
the
playing
eleven
and
replacing
Mohammed
Siraj
while
Australia
remain
unchanged.

Having
won
the
third
Test
in
Indore
by
nine
wickets,
Smith
and
his
band
would
be
high
on
confidence
and
would
be
looking
to
dent
India’s
chances
of
WTC
Final
qualification.

Both
captains
indicated
they
would
have
batted
first
if
they
won
the
toss.
The
Indian
skipper
claimed
that
the
Ahmedabad
track
is
“not
a
surface
which
we
saw
in
the
first
three
Tests”
which
were
dominated
by
spin.

Australia
maintained
their
three-spinner
approach,
with
Nathan
Lyon,
Matthew
Kuhnemann
and
Todd
Murphy,
alongside
left-arm
quick
Mitchell
Starc
and
all-rounder
Cameron
Green.