Red-letter day for Motera with pink-ball Test

Ahmedabad: With the India-England series tied 1-1, the focus has shifted to the newly built Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, which will host the pink-ball Day-Night Test from February 24. The fixture will be the second Day-Night Test in India. The first was played in Kolkata against Bangladesh in 2019. Motera will also host the fourth and final Test (March 4-8) and all the five T20 Internationals (March 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20).

It is after a gap of over six years that Motera will be holding an international match. India last played an ODI against Sri Lanka in November 2014 at this venue.

“Both the teams, along with the officials, are arriving on Thursday evening on a chartered flight from Chennai and will be staying at a city hotel for nearly a month,” said a GCA official.

“The teams have been provided two time slots, from 10am to 12pm and from 2pm to 5pm for match practice on Friday,” added the official. “We will come to know about their training once we get the confirmation after their arrival.”

The ICC match referee, Javagal Srinath, will check the standard of the pitches. Once he gives the nod, the curator will select one of the five pitches (three with red soil and two with black soil) which is match-ready.

Incidentally, the Motera has 11 pitches, and a different pitch will be used for every match.

India need to win the current Test series to make it to the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand at Lord’s from June 18-22. However, England will have to win both the matches here to reach the final.