April 10, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1429

NEW DELHI, April 9: Australia will tour India for a four-Test series later this year, officials announced on Wednesday, following the fiercely contested and controversial recent series in Australia.

Australia will arrive in India on Sept 29 and play four Tests in Bangalore, Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur, said Niranjan Shah, honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after defeating India 2-1 earlier this year in Australia, in a series remembered both for the intense competition on the pitch as controversies that dogged the teams off the field.

India’s Harbhajan Singh received a three-Test ban for an alleged racist remark against Australia’s Andrew Symonds. However, the ban was overturned on appeal after India threatened to withdraw from the tour if it was upheld.

That followed India’s successful lobbying to have umpire Steve Bucknor removed from the Test series after a string of poor decisions in the second test saw India fall behind 2-0 in the four-match series it eventually lost 2-1. However, India did win the one-day tri-series against the World Cup champions and Sri Lanka.

The teams will meet in the southern Indian city of Bangalore from Oct 9-13. The second and third Tests will be played at Mohali from Oct 17-21 and New Delhi from Oct 28 to Nov 1 respectively before the fourth and final Test in Nagpur from Nov 5-9.—AP