Cricket's heavyweights pad up for pitch-perfect battle Down Under

"Hello, and welcome to all our international viewers to the WACA Ground in Perth..,' For many, the understated, mellow Voice of Richie Benaud served as a window into a distant land where cricket was loud, aggressive, and played in colossal amphitheatre-like stadia.

- VISHAI: MENON

Benaud's opening comments, streamed through the sepia-tinted Channel 9 feed, were often a morning alarm for fans V who would shiver out of their " blankets to perch themselves in front of television sets.

Since Benaud's passing in 2015, much has changed.

Channel 9 lost its cricket broadcasting rights in 2018, and the WACA (Western Australian Cricket Association), the spiritual home of cricket in Western Australia, has been replaced by the futuristic 65,000-seater Optus Stadium near the banks of the Swan River.

This Friday, Optus Stadium will take centre stage as Australia and India clash in the first of a five-match Test series for the Border- Gavaskar Trophy.

The hype and frenzy surrounding this marquee series have reached a fever pitch, with many in Australia and India billing it as cricket's most storied rivalry - perhaps even outrivalling the Ashes.

Across Australian stadia turnstiles and bustling Indian markets, the Border- Gavaskar Trophy is being celebrated as the real deal - the asli muqabala Virat Kohli and the dynamic Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal have been dominating headlines in leading Australian newspapers.