There is a lot of excitement and intense sanguinity among cricket fans as the first day-night cricket test match is set to begin in Kolkata from Friday, November 22. Though, if we count the cricket test matches played so far in cricket-playing countries, it comes to as many as 11 times, it will surely be a good initiative in the words of chess player Tania Sachdev. Both the teams will be played partly under massive floodlights. India and Bangladesh are equipped with equally good cricketers. They are ready to share the pink ball in grassy Eden Gardens.
Like the 1987 World Cup and the 2016 T-20 World Cup, tomorrow’s test match will be quite exciting. It seems like Kolkata takes the lead in carrying out new things on every occasion! Its denizens can boast that the first day-night test match in India was organised in this city like the establishment of the first medical college and the first underground metro.
The most discussed point is the players are set to use the pink ball. Its longevity has not been satisfactory but its visibility is more than red or white balls in that twilight. A few may ask why pink, why not a yellow ball? Its reflective quality also remains more than in other bright colours. India had rejected playing with the pink ball in Adelaide last year.
Is it because of the BCCI chief Saurav Ganguli’s likeness towards pink colour? It has been widely circulated that the inclusion of the pink ball was possible owing to his intense interest. Indian team captain Virat Kohli said he wants to complete his 12th straight home series through the coloured ball.
Bangladesh’s spin bowling consultant Daniel Vettori said that his team’s pacers were “equally excited with the use of different SG balls,” a Business Standard report said. The movement of the ball during the daytime will remain normal but it turns challenging during the dusk. Vettori expects that will be the period of the match where the cricketers will try to do a few different things, technically. The final one-and-a-half session will be quite interesting.