PM Modi, Australia’s Albanese attend India-Australia Test match in Ahmedabad to grand welcome

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese kicked off the fourth Test match between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning, having earlier toured the huge sports arena in a golf cart to cheers from the crowd. 

Modi and Albanese handed over the Test caps to their team captains Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith. Thousands of spectators who had already taken their seats in the world's largest cricket stadium applauded the round of the playing field on the golf cart of the two dignitaries.

The Albanians arrived here on Wednesday and attended some programs while Modi arrived in the state late last night. Later, PM Modi posted pictures of the event on Twitter and expressed his joy at attending the Test match with his "good friend" Anthony Albanes.

The Albanian, who is on a four-day trip to India, was welcomed at the airport by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who also accompanied the visiting leader during a tour of the Sabarmati ashram. On behalf of the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, Sarabhai and other trustees presented the visiting leader with a book written by Australian author Thomas Weber on Mahatma Gandhi's historic salt march.

The ashram presented another book depicting the life of the Father of the Nation in Ahmedabad between 1915 and 1930 and a replica of a 'charkha' or spinning wheel to the Albanians who spent nearly 20 minutes in the compound.

In the guest book, the Australian leader wrote that Mahatma Gandhi's values ​​and philosophy continue to inspire the world. "It is a great honor for me to visit, to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy and life values ​​still inspire the world today. We have much to learn from his example," the Australian prime minister wrote in a book before leaving for the Raj Bhavan.