Third India-Australia Test to be moved out of Dharamsala: Report

NEW DELHI: The third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala from March 1, will be shifted to a new venue as the ground in the Himalayas is not ready to host the match. The BCCI is yet to finalise the new venue but Indore and Rajkot are the frontrunners to host the second Test. A final decision on the venue is expected to be taken soon, a ESPNcricinfo report said.

The decision to move the game out of Dharamsala has been taken after an unfavourable report from the board's inspection panel. The panel visited the ground on February 11 and noted several bare patches on the outfield, which was re-laid recently by the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) to install a new drainage system. Another obstacle was that no cricket had been played in Dharamsala since the two T20Is between India and Sri Lanka in February 2022. Notably, Dharamsala has hosted only one Test so far -- in 2017 when India beat Australia to clinch the series 2-1.

India are up 1-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, after beating Australia by an innings and 132 runs inside three days in the first Test in Nagpur. The second Test will be played at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi from February 17.

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