Bangladesh and India are gearing up for their first ever day-night Test which will be held at the Eden Gardens on November 22. This will also be the first ever international match held in the subcontinent to use the pink-ball.
As part of the preparations, both teams have been having their fielding drills and net sessions in twilight and under lights.
In an effort to cope with the dew during the game, the fast bowlers of Bangladesh are practicing bowling with a wet ball, according to their young all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
“The pace bowlers will continue to bowl by dipping the ball in water in the coming days,” Mehidy told reporters.
“I think we can adapt in the coming days. Maybe it will skid a little more when it is wet. Spinners can get to skid the ball. There’s also likely to be bounce and turn.”
After batting against the pink ball, Mehidy said that the new SG ball swings more and appears to come off the surface quicker than the red ball.
#INDvBAN The second test match between India and Bangladesh, in Kolkata, will be the first day-night test match in the country which will be played with pink balls. pic.twitter.com/Rs8JIcqXae
— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019
“I batted against the pink ball. It was moving and goes off rapidly after pitching. It goes off the bat quite quickly too. I think it swings more, and you can cut the ball too,” he said.
“We are still new to the pink ball. We haven’t got a lot of time with it but we are trying to cover as much as possible. There’ll be an initial struggle, but it will only get better as we go along. But it will be important to play for long, particularly after a batsman has adjusted to it.”
The 22-year-old also complained that seeing the seam on the ball under fading light is a challenge.
“There’s not a lot of problem seeing it while catching and fielding too, but we have to be careful during the match. The seam can be sighted at times, but there are occasions when you can’t see it,” he added.
Going into this historic Test, India have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series after their emphatic victory by an innings and 130 runs at Indore.
