"Cricket, a common passion in India and Australia," PM Narendra Modi tweeted
Cricket took centre stage as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began engagements during his India visit on Thursday.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Australian Prime Minister watched a part of the fourth cricket Test Match for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They also participated in a special ceremony before the match, and interacted with the Indian and Australian players.



Celebrating the moment, Australian PM Anthony Albanese tweeted his selfie with PM Modi from the stadium, along with the caption, saying, “Celebrating 75 years of friendship though cricket with Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi”



PM Modi reacted by tweeting, “Cricket, a common passion in India and Australia! Glad to be in Ahmedabad with my good friend, PM @AlboMP to witness parts of the India-Australia Test Match. I am sure it will be an exciting game!”



PM Modi and his Australian counterpart, who went around the ground in a golf cart decorated as a chariot, were welcomed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Roger Binny and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. The event was marked by Grammy Award winning singer Falguni Shah's impressive cultural performance, "Unity of Symphony".



PM Modi then went on to present the Test Cap to the captain of Team India, Rohit Sharma, while the Australian PM handed over the same to the Australian captain, Steve Smith. The two leaders took a guard of honour on a golf cart in front of the crowd gathered at the stadium to watch the match.



Afterward, the team captains made their way down to the pitch for the toss, while the Prime Ministers headed toward the Friendship Hall of Fame for a walkthrough. The legendary former Indian Team coach and player, Ravi Shastri, accompanied both the Prime Ministers and shared the rich cricketing history between India and Australia.



Next, the team captains escorted their respective Prime Ministers to the field of play, where they were introduced to the teams. The national anthems of both India and Australia were played, marking the beginning of the much-awaited match between the two cricketing giants.



PM Modi and the Australian PM then made their way to the President's Box, where they enjoyed a spectacular view of the enthralling match.

The Australian Prime Minister later flew to Mumbai to attend a business event. He is scheduled to participate in the first in-person India-Australia along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday.



Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath had a telephone conversation with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles.

According to India’s Ministry of Defence, both the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment towards further strengthening the bilateral defence relationship. “The telecon was reflective of the trust and friendship the two countries share especially in matters related to defence and security,” the ministry said.

India and Australia are pursuing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the defence cooperation between the two countries has been consistently deepening in recent years.