Rajkot to host first Test between England, India

NEW DELHI: England will embark on their lengthy tour of India later this year with Rajkot hosting the first of the five Test matches from November 9, the cricket boards announced on Friday.

The western Indian city of Rajkot will be making its debut as a Test venue in the series, as will be coastal Vishakapatnam, which hosts the second Test from November 17.

Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai will host the remaining matches of what would be England's first five-Test rubber in India since 1984-85.



Beginning on January 15, England will also play three ODIs and as many T20Is.

"This promises to be a historic Test series... and a great opportunity for Alastair Cook and his players to repeat the memorable Test series win we enjoyed on our last trip to India in 2012," Andrew Strauss, Director England Cricket, said in a statement.

"Equally, Eoin Morgan's white-ball squad will be anticipating hard-fought and competitive encounters against high quality opposition in both formats..." he added.



Schedule:

November 9-13: 1st Test, Rajkot

November 17-21: 2nd Test, Vishakapatnam

November 26-30: 3rd Test, Mohali

December 8-12: 4th Test, Mumbai

December 16-20: 5th Test, Chennai

January 15: 1st ODI, Pune

January 19: 2nd ODI Cuttack

January 22: 3rd ODI, Kolkata

January 26: 1st T20, Kanpur

January 29: 2nd T20, Nagpur

February 1: 3rd T20, Bangalore