Cheteshwar Pujara concedes that sighting the pink ball under lights can be a problem

Sport360 staff 22:05 27/11/2019
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  • India finished off their excellent Test season with a convincing win over Bangladesh in their maiden Pink ball match. The game lasted only till the first hour of the third day as the hosts completed a victory by an innings and 46 runs at Eden Gardens.

    In the build-up to the day-night Test, there was lot of concern raised over the batsmen and the fielders sighting the pink ball in twilight and under artificial lights.

    India top-order batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara who scored a half-century under lights at Kolkata, stated that batsmen had to concentrate harder to get used to the colour of the ball under fading light.

    “You have to concentrate a little extra and spend little bit more time at the crease to get used to it. When it comes to red ball, visibility isn’t an issue at all during the day,” Pujara told the Indian Express.

    “But with pink ball under lights, when you walk in to bat during the second or the third session, visibility can be a bit of a problem as you are sitting in the dressing room and suddenly you are walking in under lights.”

    Pujara had also observed that the pink ball offers more swing for the fast bowlers than the conventional red ball that is used in day Tests.

    “It swings a bit more. So you have to spend little more time at the crease, try to get used to that light and then may be you can start playing your shots, ” said the 31-year-old.

    India skipper Virat Kohli, who became the first Indian to score century in a day-night Test had also mentioned after the Test match that the pink ball seamed throughout the evening till the end of a day’s play.

    Kohli also observed that it was the transition from natural light to artificial light that the batsman had to adjust while playing in a day-night Test.

    India retained the top spot in the ICC Test rankings by remaining unbeaten in the longer format in 2019. Their next  Test assignment will be a tour to New Zealand in February 2020.

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