Pink ball & Younis' absence level playing field

Ajit Vijaykumar 07:00 13/10/2016
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  • The first Test in Dubai between Pakistan and the West Indies starting today is a historic one. Not only is it the first day/night Test to be held in the UAE, but the first one in Asian conditions as well.

    The relatively new concept of playing Tests under lights and with a pink ball is a daring experiment which I have maintained is a necessary step forward for the five day game. There is a lot of buzz around daynight Tests but teams don’t know exactly what to expect, especially in dry conditions.

    The only day-night Test to be held so far was in Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand last year and the curators had to leave a lot of grass on the surface to ensure the pink ball retained its colour for as long as possible.

    As a result, fast bowlers dominated, neither team managed to reach 250 and the game finished in three days. Pakistan and West Indies enter the game not knowing exactly how the game will pan out.

    Players on both sides have admitted that the black seam on the ball makes it very difficult to pick spinners but what is also true is the pink ball tends to swing under lights and almost as soon as the sun goes down. So the bowlers – spinners, seamers or both – will have a big role to play in Dubai.

    The uncertainty surrounding the day-night endeavour, therefore, has levelled the playing field to a certain degree. In a regular day game, Pakistan would have been the clear favourites. They still hold the upper hand but the West Indies bowlers have a bit more of a chance.

    Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo struck form in the day-night warm-up game in Sharjah, picking up five wickets. Their fast bowlers can hope to get some movement under lights and if the ball starts zipping around, as it did in Adelaide, then it is anyone’s game.

    Pakistan will be a bit careful. They completely dominated the T20 and ODI series and should be looking forward to another series whitewash. But the first Test poses a bit of a problem, not only due to the floodlit fixture but also because they will be missing their talismanic batsman Younis Khan.

    The 38-year-old is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting, alongside captain Misbah ul Haq, and with him recovering from dengue, Pakistan have a big hole to fill in the middle order. Pakistan’s bowling is in peak condition, with bowlers like Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah likely to rule the roost.

    But in the absence of Younis, their batting loses some of its sheen and the onus will be on Azhar Ali and Misbah to share the bulk of the load as there are likely to be one or two debutants in the team.

    Pakistan were recently the No1 Test side and they have reached near the top of the table after years of consistent displays against most teams in different conditions. The West Indies are languishing in eighth position and shouldn’t, on paper, pose much of a threat.

    But the altered playing conditions, uncertainty about the pink ball, and absence of a heavyweight like Younis has made it a much more intriguing affair. Because otherwise, it seems like another contest between two totally mismatched sides.

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