NewDelhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Thursday (March 9, 2023) enjoyed the first day of the fourth Test match between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Ahead of the start of the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the two leaders took a round of the massive sports arena on a golf car, which was applauded by the thousands of spectators who turned up at the world’s largest cricket stadium.
Modi and Albanese also handed over Test caps to their respective team captains Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith. They met players from both teams and stood alongside them when the national anthems of India and Australia were sung.
The two prime ministers also visited the ‘Hall of Fame museum at the Narendra Modi stadium.
“Cricket, a common passion in India and Australia! Glad to be in Ahmedabad with my good friend, PM Anthony Albanese to witness parts of the India-Australia Test Match. I am sure it will be an exciting game!” Modi said in a tweet.
Albanese also took to his official Twitter account and said, “As two cricket-loving nations, Australia and India share a fierce but friendly rivalry. At the heart of this contest is genuine respect, reflecting the affection and friendship between our peoples.”
“On the field, Australia and India are competing to be the best in the world. Off the field, we are co-operating to build a better world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I had the honour of opening the fourth test in Gujarat today. Good luck to all the players (but go Australia!),” he added.
India lead the four-match series 2-1 and Australia is currently 75-2 after skipper Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat in the series-deciding fourth Test.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese is on his first visit to India
Australian PM Anthony Albanese is on his first visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.
He arrived in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening and said he was keen to further deepen Australia’s multifaceted relationship with India at a time of extraordinary growth and dynamism, especially in areas of trade, security, and people-to-people links.
Albanese is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business leaders during his four-day trip.
After Ahmedabad, he is scheduled to visit Mumbai around Thursday afternoon before arriving in New Delhi later in the day.
“This trip demonstrates our commitment to deepening our links with India, and to being a force for stability and growth in our region. We have a historic opportunity to strengthen our relationship with India, at a time of extraordinary growth and dynamism in our region,” Albanese said.
He added that Australia is a better place because of its large, diverse Indian-Australian community.
“Australia and India have a rich friendship, underpinned by our common interests, our shared democratic values, the bonds between our people, and an affectionate but fierce sporting rivalry,? he said.
“This is an important visit. It will be my fourth meeting with Prime Minister Modi. One of the first things I did as Prime Minister was travel to the Quad Leaders Meeting in Tokyo last year. Australia and India are important partners. We share common values. We are both vibrant democracies. We have an interest in improving our economic relations,” he said in a statement.
Albanese said he will attend the G20 meeting when it is hosted in India and will host the Quad leaders meeting in Australia in the first half of this year with Prime Minister Modi, his Japanese counterpart Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and US President Joe Biden.
Bureau Report
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