India are all set to host Bangladesh in the first-ever day-night Test in Kolkata from November 22 and the game will be played with the pink ball. The pink ball swings more than the red one but how it would behave after getting old, in dew will be a factor, thinks India captain Virat Kohli.
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“I think it’s a new way to bring excitement to Test cricket. The pink ball I played yesterday, I felt it swings a lot more as compared to the red ball because there’s extra lacquer (quote of paint) on the ball which doesn’t go away too fast. And the seam holds upright quite a bit,” Kohli said.
“If the pitch has extra help for the bowlers, then they will be in the game, especially fast bowlers throughout the course of the Test match. I don’t know how the old ball behaves because with the dew and the lacquer going off, it will be interesting to see how much the old ball does,” the skipper said. “With the pink ball having enough life in the pitch will be very important factor.”
The Indian team, although, did not practice with the pink ball under lights but took a few throw-downs on Tuesday to adjust to the colour of the new ball.
“I hadn’t played with the pink ball before. I was given an opportunity to try and I wanted to. So that was my mind-set behind playing with the pink ball. You require extra concentration to pick the pink ball suddenly when you’re playing with the red ball,” he added.
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“It was to work on the reflexes a little bit as well. Because when you play with the red ball in the net and you arrive at the pink ball, it gets very difficult to pick, which can be the case in the game as well. To get into that zone was the reason behind it,” he explained.
Virat Kohli also maintained that while the hype about the day-night Test is understandable, their focus is on the first game.
“In Test cricket, I don’t think you can afford to take focus away. Not even one session, not even one over. With the red ball you need to be absolutely precise in your focus, every game that you play, every ball that you play, every situation that you are in. Our prime focus is tomorrow’s Test match. We are looking forward to that first and then we will focus on the pink ball later,” Kohli expressed.
