What happened the last time India played a Test in Nagpur?

The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur will host the first Test between India and Australia, starting on Thursday, February 9. The last time India played a red-ball game at the venue was in 2017 against Sri Lanka.

The second Test of the three-match series saw the home side thrash the Lankan Lions by an innings and 239 runs. Virat Kohli, who was the Indian captain back then, played a mammoth 213-run knock to win the Player of the Match award.

The visitors were bundled out for 205 runs after deciding to bat first. Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne were the only two batters to show some intent in what was otherwise a superb bowling effort from the Indians. While Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja scalped three wickets apiece.

In response, the home side piled up 610/6 before declaring the innings and securing a 405-run lead. Although they lost KL Rahul early on, Murali Vijay (128) and Cheteshwar Pujara (143) set up a brilliant platform for Kohli to showcase his craft. The talismanic batter smacked 213 runs off 267 balls, laced with 17 boundaries and two sixes, to put the hosts on top.

Rohit Sharma, who batted at No. 6 in the game, also scored an unbeaten 102 before Kohli declared the innings after bagging a staggering first-innings lead.

Sri Lanka folded for 166 runs in the second innings, losing the match by a mammoth margin. Chandimal once again scored a half-century but lacked support from his teammates. Ashwin picked up another four-wicket haul, while Ishant, Jadeja, and Umesh Yadav scalped two wickets apiece.

With the victory, Kohli and Co. took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first Test ended in a draw.

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India and Australia squads

India: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, and Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, and David Warner.

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