India is set for a challenging start to their Australia tour, as the Optus Stadium curator revealed that the pitch for the opening Test has been prepared to deliver "good bounce and pace," in line with Perth's reputation for fiery,

Hyderabad: The Indian cricket team will have to brace themselves for a tough test when they take on Australia in the first of the five Test matches for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the Optus Stadium in Perth could be a fast bowlers’ paradise.

The Australians celebrated their huge 360-run victory after Pakistan was bowled out for 89 in the second innings. In all, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, three Australian pacers, claimed 12 of the 20 wickets taken by Pakistan.

The wicket for the first Test at the Optus Stadium is a drop-in pitch that contains the same clay and grass species as the ones used at the WACA, which was widely regarded as one of the quickest and bounciest in the world back when it was the sole Test venue in Perth.

The first Test of the upcoming five-match series between India and Australia is scheduled to take place at Optus Stadium in Perth and will start on November 22.

Perth's Optus Stadium started hosted matches since 2017. India played one Test match at the venue and failed to win in 2018.

The first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Test series will start from November 22 and the drop-in pitch for series-opener has been moved into the Optus Stadium. “This is Australia, this is

Coming off dusty surfaces at home, and having opted to shelve their only practice match before the first Test, India are set for a tough initiation in Australian conditions on an Optus Stadium pitch expected to resemble the famous fiery characteristics of the nearby WACA ground.