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India-New Zealand Test in August set to enter history books
By CricketCountry Staff
The bizarre aspect of the New Zealand’s tour of India will be that it will be that for the first time in history of Indian cricket that a Test match will be played in the monsoon month of August.
Published: May 27, 2012, 05:57 PM (IST)
Edited: May 27, 2012, 05:57 PM (IST)
India play New Zealand in two Test matches and two T20s in the month of August © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Hyderabad: May 27, 2012
The Indian cricketing calendar for the 2012-13 season will be crowded with many series at home which includes India hosting England in November for four Tests, five One-Day Internationals and two T20s followed by four Tests against Australians which will conclude in March.
Before India host England and their arch-rivals Australia, they will be hosting New Zealanders in August before the T20 World Cup in September. The Kiwis will face off the home team in two Tests and two T20s.
The bizarre aspect of the New Zealand’s tour of India will be that it will be that for the first time in history of Indian cricket that a Test match will be played in the monsoon month of August.
According to a report in Mid Day, the Kiwis are scheduled to play a Test match in Hyderabad in the fourth week of August. Strangely enough, New Zealand is the only Test laying nation that has played a five-day international match in Hyderabad.
In all Hyderabad has hosted New Zealand four times – three at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and one at Uppal in 2010.
The strange scheduling for the New Zealand series was sympathised by former Indian spinner Venkatapathy Raju, a Hyderabad local.
He said, “Unfortunately, their hands are tied. Because of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup scheduled in September, we are forced to squeeze in the New Zealand matches before that. Also because of the rotation policy, Hyderabad was due for a Test match this year. Unfortunately, it is being staged in the peak monsoon season.”
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He added though there is a risk of match getting washed out due to staging in the month of August, the administrators are rendered helpless. “Many times, Chennai used to host a match around Pongal time (in December-January) and a lot of those matches were washed out. It’s definitely a risk but the BCCI can’t help it. Test matches anyway don’t get good crowds these days,” said Raju.