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Before the action in the 4th Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, March 9, there was a display of cricket diplomacy. The occasion marked 75 years of the relationship between the two countries, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were the special guests at the world’s biggest cricket stadium.
Ravi Shastri hosted a mini ceremony that included the two Prime Ministers and the two team captains before the toss.
During the ceremony, PM Modi presented Rohit Sharma with a special Test cap, while PM Anthony presented Steve Smith with a new Baggy Green. The Indian Prime Minister then urged them all to pose for photographers with raised arms.
The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modiji presents the special cap to #TeamIndia captain @ImRo45 while The Honourable Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Anthony Albanese presents the cap to Australia captain Steve Smith.@narendramodi | @PMOIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/8RH70LOx0v
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 9, 2023
After the toss was done, PM Modi and PM Anthony joined the two teams during the national anthems. Captain Rohit Sharma introduced all the India players to PM Modi, while Steve Smith did the same to PM Anthony.
A special welcome & special handshakes! 👏
The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modiji and the Honourable Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Anthony Albanese meet #TeamIndia & Australia respectively. @narendramodi | @PMOIndia | #TeamIndia | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/kFZsEO1H12
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 9, 2023
Smith won the toss and opted to bat first, giving Australia an early advantage in the game. India made only one change to their XI, resting Mohammed Siraj and bringing back Mohammed Shami. The visiting camp showed confidence by going in with an unchanged XI.
Teams for the 4th India vs Australia Test
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon.
