In Canberra, the Indian team had a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The Australian Prime Minister met with the Rohit Sharma-led team and the PM's XI team in parliament as is customary. Images from the meeting were posted on PM Albanese's official social media account. Additionally, Albanese shared his message with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that he supports the Australians in completing the task. "This week at Manuka Oval, the PM's XI will face a formidable Indian team in a big test. However, I am supporting the Australians to finish the job, as I told Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the caption continued.
When captain Rohit Sharma presented the Indian team to Albanese, they had a pleasant conversation. Albanese complimented Jasprit Bumrah on his effort and told him that his style was really distinct from anyone else's. "Good time in Perth, as if we weren't suffering enough at that point," he said cheekily to Virat Kohli. "Always gotta add some spice to it," Kohli added in response. Albanese made a playful association between "spice" and the Indian players. This was in the context of the first Test match, in which India defeated Australia by 295 runs.
The key players in India's victory were Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who produced his seventh century on Australian territory and his 30th Test century. After taking eight wickets throughout the game, Bumrah was declared the Player of the Match.
Rohit Sharma's speech in Australian parliament
"Honorable Prime Minister, respected guests, both the members of the team, very good evening. Thank you sir, thank you for having us. India and Australia, we go back a long way, whether it's playing the sport, whether it is creating relations. Over the years, we have enjoyed coming to this part of the world, playing cricket and enjoying the variety of culture in the country. And obviously, you know, Australia is one of the challenging places to come and play cricket because of the passion people have, the competitiveness every player possesses, which is why, you know, us, it's always been a great challenge to come here and play cricket. We've had some success in the past and we've had a very good momentum, you know, the previous week," said Rohit Sharma.
"As we look to build on that momentum, we also do want to enjoy the culture that Australia has, the variety of the cities, which gives us a different feeling. And yeah, we do love coming here and enjoy it. And hopefully, in the next few weeks, we can entertain the Australian public as well as the Indian fans who are here and play a massive role in achieving that we achieve, because without their support, it's never easy. So yes, we look forward to playing some good cricket at the same time, enjoying the country as well. It's been a wonderful place, as we all know. Yeah, look forward to a very good month coming up. We are all excited and hopefully, we can entertain a lot of people," he concluded.
Early on Thursday, November 28, the Indian squad arrived in Canberra from Perth. In Canberra, the Indian team is preparing for the two-day pink-ball Test match against the Prime Minister's XI of Australia. This game will be an ideal warm-up for the Border Gavaskar Trophy day-night Test match versus Australia. The Adelaide Oval will host the second test starting on December 6.
