Modi, Australian PM to visit Gujarat, watch 4th test match

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from Wednesday, during which they will watch the first day of the fourth Test match between the two countries at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on March 9, officials said.

While Modi will arrive late evening, Albanese will land at Ahmedabad airport in the evening and head straight towards the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to pay his tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, who lived at the Ashram during India's freedom struggle.

As per the official schedule shared by authorities, Albanese would attend a cultural event at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar organised by the Gujarat government on the occasion of the Holi festival.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Governor Acharya Devvrat and other dignitaries will also join the Australian PM at Raj Bhavan.

Albanese is also scheduled to attend an event of an Australian University at a five-star hotel on Wednesday night.

On Thursday morning, both prime ministers will arrive at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad to watch the first-day play of the fourth Test between Australia and India.

They would leave after watching the match for a few hours.

Ahmedabad police have deployed more than 3,000 personnel at the stadium as well as surrounding areas in the city anticipating a huge rush of spectators to watch the cricket match, said Additional Commissioner of Police, sector 1, Neeraj Badgujar.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the prime minister of Australia will watch the Test match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on March 9. Police have already completed all the security-related arrangements. We have deployed nearly 200 police officers and 3,000 policemen to secure the stadium and other spots," Badgujar told reporters on Tuesday.

According to Joint Commissioner of Police N N Chaudhary, spectators will arrive at the stadium in nearly 1,500 buses and special parking arrangements have been made to accommodate these buses and other vehicles.