India to play five ODIs against Australia as part of "historic" summer cricket schedule

Cricket Australia announced on Thursday that World Cup semi-finalists India will return to Australia to play the world No.1 in a five-match One Day International (ODI) Series.

In releasing its summer schedule, Cricket Australia said the five ODIs will compliment three Twenty 20 (T20) matches during January, one of which to be played on India's national holiday, boosting the prospects of a television audience to rival the 300 million viewers that watched the teams do battle in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup in March.

India lost the match by 95 runs, but cemented its place as the second-ranked ODI team in the world, behind only Australia which went on to win the tournament.

Among the other announcements released by Cricket Australia on Thursday is the confirmation of the first day/night Test match in history, while a series of Australian-first double-headers have been scheduled to raise the profile of the Australian women's cricket team.

Cricket Australia Executive General Manager of Operations Mike McKenna said the "historic" decision to schedule a day/night Test match was to entice new fans to the game, as well as offering overseas viewers a more attractive time to watch the match on television.

"This summer promises to be another history-making season for cricket in Australia," he said on Thursday.

"Test cricket will be played in every state including an inaugural day/night Test match between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide, a step designed to make following the cricket much easier for fans to attend the game or watch on television."

Australia will play three Test matches against New Zealand in November, while the West Indies are scheduled to play three Test matches during December and January.

The five-match ODI series and the T20 series will take place during January and February.

Highlights of the summer of cricket include:

Test Series v New Zealand

1st Test: November 5, Brisbane

2nd Test: November 13, Perth

3rd Test: November 27, Adelaide

Test Series v West Indies

1st Test: December 10, Hobart

2nd Test: December 26, Melbourne

3rd Test: January 3, Sydney

ODI Series v India

1st ODI: January 12, Perth

2nd ODI: January 15, Brisbane

3rd ODI: January 17, Melbourne

4th ODI: January 20, Canberra

5th ODI: January 23, Sydney

T20 series v India

1st T20: January 26, Adelaide

2nd T20: January 29, Melbourne

3rd T20: January 31, Sydney

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