IND vs AUS: A look at pink ball Tests in numbers at Adelaide Oval

The Adelaide Oval in Adelaide hosted the first-ever day-night Test match with a pink ball in men's international cricket back in 2015 between Australia and New Zealand

India and Australia are all set to renew their rivalry in Test cricket with the second Test of the ongoing 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy taking place at Adelaide Oval from Friday, December 6. The second Test will feature a pink ball as it will be a day-night Test, a concept the hosts are most familiar with, having played 12 of the 22 day-night Tests played to date while losing only one of them, against the West Indies. On the other hand, while India has also lost only one of the four day-night Tests they have played so far, their only loss came against the same opposition at the same venue back in December 2020.

 

Notably, unlike India, which suffered a heavy defeat in their last pink-ball outing at Adelaide Oval, Australia has won all seven of the games they have played so far at this venue, including the first-ever day-night Test in men’s international cricket against New Zealand in November 2015.

 

Australia’s Records at Adelaide Oval with Pink Ball

 

Opposition	Winner	Margin	Toss	Bat	Date
v New Zealand	Australia	3 wickets	lost	2nd	27-Nov-15
v South Africa	Australia	7 wickets	lost	2nd	24-Nov-16
v England	Australia	120 runs	lost	1st	02-Dec-17
v Pakistan	Australia	inns & 48 runs	won	1st	29-Nov-19
v India	Australia	8 wickets	lost	2nd	17-Dec-20
v England	Australia	275 runs	won	1st	16-Dec-21
v West Indies	Australia	419 runs	won	1st	08-Dec-22

 

Day-Night Test at Adelaide Oval: Highest Run-Getter

 

Being the home team, Australian players lead the chart of highest run-getters in pink-ball Tests at Adelaide, with former opener David Warner topping the chart with 647 runs. However, he could move down to second spot if Marnus Labuschagne adds 85 runs in the upcoming Test, as he is currently in second place with 563 runs. Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, and Travis Head are third, fourth, and fifth on the list with 384, 325, and 289 runs, respectively.

 

Top Run-Getters in Pink-Ball Tests at Adelaide Oval 

Player	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50
DA Warner (AUS)	6	11	647	335*	64.7	66.42	1	1
M Labuschagne (AUS)	4	7	563	163	80.42	51.36	3	1
SPD Smith (AUS)	7	13	384	93	32	49.54	0	3
UT Khawaja (AUS)	3	6	325	145	54.16	50	1	2
TM Head (AUS)	4	5	289	175	72.25	81.17	1	1
SE Marsh (AUS)	2	4	196	126*	65.33	46.66	1	0
MA Starc (AUS)	7	9	181	53	36.2	74.48	0	1
JE Root (ENG)	2	4	162	67	40.5	51.26	0	2
DJ Malan (ENG)	2	4	148	80	37	42.65	0	1
SC Cook (SA)	1	2	144	104	72	42.47	1	0

 

  Day-Night Test at Adelaide Oval: Top Wicket-Takers

 

Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc leads the top wicket-takers list at Adelaide Oval, with a total of 39 wickets to his name, closely followed by fellow countrymen Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who have 28 wickets each.

 

Top Wicket-Takers in Pink-Ball Tests at Adelaide Oval 

Player	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	SR	5 wkts innings
MA Starc (AUS)	7	13	39	6/66	8/137	16.64	35.5	2
JR Hazlewood (AUS)	5	10	28	6/70	9/136	18.42	39	2
NM Lyon (AUS)	7	13	28	5/69	6/105	23.85	58.9	1
PJ Cummins (AUS)	3	6	13	4/21	7/69	21.76	48.5	0
JM Anderson (ENG)	2	4	9	5/43	6/117	20.33	61.3	1
TA Boult (NZ)	1	2	7	5/60	7/101	14.42	28.2	1
MG Neser (AUS)	2	4	7	3/22	7/56	16.71	40.1	0
CR Woakes (ENG)	2	4	6	4/36	5/120	44.83	78.6	0
R Ashwin (IND)	1	2	5	4/55	5/71	14.2	28.8	0
AS Joseph (WI)	1	2	5	3/33	5/140	28	45.6	0
JA Richardson (AUS)	1	2	5	3/42	5/120	24	45.8	1
KJ Abbott (SA)	1	2	4	3/49	4/75	18.75	58.5	0
DAJ Bracewell (NZ)	1	2	4	3/18	4/55	13.75	34.7	0
SCJ Broad (ENG)	2	4	4	2/72	2/98	49.5	118.5	0
C Overton (ENG)	1	2	4	3/105	4/116	29	52.5	0