Team India to play a three-day practice game in Durham

Team India will play a three-day warm-up game against a County Championship XI starting on July 20 to prepare for the five-match Test series against England.

The match, which has been accorded a first-class status, will be played at the Emirates Riverside in Chester-le-Street, Durham. The Indian cricketers were on a three-week break after the WTC final, and will now travel to Durham for the only practice match ahead of the Test series which kicks off on August 4th.

“Durham Cricket are delighted to announce that Emirates Riverside will host India against a County Championship XI as the tourists prepare for their test series against England later this summer,” Durham County Cricket Club said in a statement.

The match will be played behind closed doors.

The club also confirmed that the Indian team will use the Emirates Ground as their base to prepare for the first Test, which will be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

“The world number two test side will use Emirates Riverside as a home venue for their preparations this summer, and will get underway with a three-day game against a county-select on Tuesday 20 July,” it said.

 The practice match will also be telecast for the viewers with an Indian name in the commentary team.

“Durham Cricket have the pleasure of streaming all three days of play via the Durham Cricket YouTube channel bringing you multi-camera coverage of all the action. The club working in partnership with 5 live, will bring live coverage with BBC journalists Kevin Howells and Mark Church along with former Indian first-class cricketer Abhishek Jhunjhunwala joining the commentary team,” it further added.