After a staggering two-day victory in the third series match against England that saw 30 wickets fall for just 387 runs, the Indian cricket board is reconsidering day and night testing based on player feedback. Indians against the pink ball. , You have learned The Indian Express.
The team’s leadership has conveyed two key drawbacks: visibility of the pink ball, which also skids faster than the red version, making it difficult for hitters.
A BCCI official told The Indian Express that the comments “are taken seriously.” “What the players say is important. We will receive a call soon about whether we should test the pink ball in the future, ”the official said.
Of the 30 wickets that fell in the Test that India won on Thursday played at the newly opened Narendra Modi Stadium, 28 were taken by spinners and most batters were fired by the straightest ball that skidded.
After Thursday’s 10 wicket victory, a member of the Indian team management told The Indian Express: “The problem with facing the pink ball is that it skates much faster compared to the red ball. Muscle memory makes hitters believe that the ball will hit a particular speed after pitching, as they are used to when playing the red ball. But the pink ball arrives much faster. This is a major problem. Also, our players don’t like to play day and night events because the pink ball has too many variables, including the difficulty of seeing the ball. “
The match at Motera ended just after the dinner break on the second day, splitting opinion between experts and fans on the quality of the field. England had 112 and 81, while India scored 145 before knocking down the 49-run goal without losing a wicket.
Later, Indian starter Rohit Sharma, who went 66 and 25 with no out, spoke to reporters about how batters have to change their focus when playing the pink ball. “The red ball doesn’t hit the bat that fast. It also has to do with the conditions at night. The temperature drops a degree or two and there is also the dew factor. But in general, the pace of the pink ball is a little faster than that of the red ball. It is something we must adapt to as quickly as possible and understand what we must do. “
Left arm spinner Axar Patel, who took 11 wickets in the game, attributed the extra “glow” (lacquer) on the ball for the quicker drift. “I feel like there’s a little bit more glow on the pink ball because the ball was sliding a little further out of the wicket, and I got LBW decisions for that. Perhaps due to this difference between the red ball and the pink one, I was getting the ball to skid further out of this field, “he said at a press conference.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a player from India told The Indian Express: “The field was as good as the Chennai track (during the first two tests). If we had played with the red ball here, the game would have lasted four days ”.
It was learned that the team management had asked for a vaulter for the third round, while the norm in day and night games has been to leave grass at the gate to ensure that the ball does not lose color and last. In fact, England entered with only one front-line player, Jack Leach, while India played with three, Ravichandra Ashwin, Washington Sundar and Axar.
India has played three pink ball events so far, winning two and losing the game in Adelaide, where they were eliminated 36 in the second inning. In 2019, when India beat Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the match ended in the first session of the third day.
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