2nd India & Bangladesh Test will be India’s first day/night Test match [Update Post# 66]

[WengerOut]

I dont understand the urge to fill up stands for test matches.

1) Nobody would want to watch test match after their hectic day.
2) Cricket would be of poor quality because of external factors like dew.

Once the novelty wear off, the crowd would be sparse as before and quality will be poor as well. It is high time authorities realise that test match is a television sport and not tinker too much. Quality is paramount.

 

[Last Monetarist]

I dont understand the urge to fill up stands for test matches.

1) Nobody would want to watch test match after their hectic day.
2) Cricket would be of poor quality because of external factors like dew.

Once the novelty wear off, the crowd would be sparse as before and quality will be poor as well. It is high time authorities realise that test match is a television sport and not tinker too much. Quality is paramount.

Don't knock it before they have tried it. It's not like we are currently experiencing a surfeit in the quality of test match cricket.

In any event, the Kolkata crowd tends to be loyal test match enthusiasts, they would turn up regardless. It would be a problem in the smaller towns.

If it doesn't work, I am sure they won't be in a hurry to repeat the experiment. It's what the ECB realized after the pink ball test against the West Indies at Edgbaston a couple of years ago.

 

[MenInG]

India Test star Cheteshwar Pujara, who has fared well against the pink ball in first-class cricket, hopes to bring his experience into play during the country's maiden day/night Test, against Bangladesh in Kolkata.

Puajara faced the pink ball in the 2016-17 edition of the Duleep Trophy, which was played under lights. Pujara was the leading run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 453 runs, including an unbeaten 256 for India Blue.

"Yes, that experience will be very helpful for sure, without any doubt," Pujara was quoted as saying by IANS. "When you have played with pink ball, you know what to expect at what time and what might be on offer. So that experience does help."

The Kookaburra version of the pink ball was used in the 2016-17 Duleep TrophyThe Kookaburra version of the pink ball was used in the 2016-17 Duleep Trophy

The ball Pujara faced during the Duleep Trophy was of the Kookaburra make, but India's regular first-class ball supplier SG will provide the ones for the Test, which gets underway on Thursday, 14 November. Pujara feels the pink ball won't behave too differently from the traditional red one.

"I don’t think there will be a major difference when you start playing with the pink ball. Since I haven’t played (against the SG pink ball) I am not sure, but my assumption is that even the SG pink ball will be very similar to the red ball."

The right-hand batsman, who has 18 Test tons against his name, did acknowledge that batting in the twilight period can be tricky, but feels that the move to introduce day/night Tests is a good one on the whole.

"Sometimes it is challenging in twilight playing with the pink ball. You need little more practice and once you keep playing with the pink ball at that time (twilight), you start getting used to it. It’s just about doing few more practice sessions before we play the match.

"We will have to wait and watch but at this stage it is a nice move," he said of playing day/night Tests in India.


https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1493924

 

[MenInG]

Architect of India’s first-ever Day/Night Test, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said five-day cricket “needed rejuvenation” to revive interest in the game’s traditional format.

India’s last series against South Africa witnessed a poor turnout but the tickets for the first three days of the pink ball Test, beginning in Kolkata on Friday, have already been sold out.

“That’s the way forward. Test cricket needed a rejuvenation,” said Ganguly, who took the onus to organise the inaugural Day/Night Test in the country after becoming the Board president last month.

“It happens all around the world. Somewhere it had to start. India is the biggest country in terms of cricket. I think that rejuvenation was important.”

As the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, Ganguly had successfully organised an India-Pakistan marquee World Twenty20 clash in 2016 at a short notice, after it was shifted out of Dharamsala. However, he said organising the Day/Night Test is more challenging.

“The challenge was to get people back into the ground. An India-Pakistan match would anyways get filled anywhere in the world. You just announce it and the crowd will be filled,” the former India skipper said.

“This was much more difficult and we managed to fill 65,000 on each of the first three days. It feels more satisfying.”

Ganguly said India captain Virat Kohli would be happy to see a full house when he walks out to bat against Bangladesh.

“He is a great player and he should be playing in front of packed house. He will be happy to see it full house when he walks out to bat on day one. You will love the atmosphere at the Eden so come and watch,” Ganguly said while unveiling the official pink Test mascots -- Pinku-Tinku -- at Eden Gardens.

“You can’t have greats of the Indian cricket play in front of empty stands. And here you will have full house for the first three days,” he said.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...dia-bangladesh-test-match/article29999784.ece

 

[sunny85]

No one wants to see test cricket with teams like current South Africa/West Indies/SriLanka/Bangladesh who surrender in 3 days.
You want to have crowds give Ranchi a test between Aus and India.

 

[King_Kohli]

First three days tickets were sold out for day and night Kolkata match.

 

[MenInG]

Amidst all the talk of the threat that fast bowlers present while operating with the pink ball and the significant presence of dew in the Kolkata winter, Bangladesh spin bowling coach Daniel Vettori has warned against writing off the slower bowlers in the day-night Test between his team and world No.1 India at Eden Gardens.

Spinners have generally had a diminished role to play in the pink ball’s short, 11-match history, having delivered 956.4 overs, as against the 2221.3 overs sent down by the faster men, and picking up 95 wickets, as opposed to the 257 wickets that have fallen to fast bowlers.

But Vettori saw good reason to make an exception in this instance. "It's slightly different here because of the early sunset,” he said. “A significant part of the match will be played under normal conditions, so spinners won't become redundant in pink ball Test matches. The first two sessions, spinners could really be important.

"I don't think it is a case of overseas spinners coming here and looking to dominate,” he went on. “Do your role as you would back home. It is more about the economy rate [for spinners], taking 2/60 or 2/70 in the first innings and trying to see what the second innings presents you. That's the right way to go about it.”

Having said that, Vettori said that Bangladesh’s fast bowlers are excited about playing with the pink ball in the second Test of the series starting on Friday, 22 November. Barring Abu Jayed, Bangladesh’s pacers had a miserable time in Indore, as Ebadot Hossain and Taijul Islam between them went for 235 runs in 59 overs and picked up a solitary wicket. But Vettori said they have come to grips with the SG pink ball and are up for the challenge.

"The four fast bowlers are excited. That's a nice thing. Bangladesh fast bowlers don't get to be excited too often. I think they are coming to grips with the ball. The SG pink ball is slightly different. Most guys' limited experience has been around the Kookaburra one. But I think there is excitement around it.

"The relaid wicket here has more bounce. It was watered today and is now covered. We have had only one session when it's dark so they haven't really experienced night time. Tomorrow we will get to experience that. So far so good, as the pink ball behaves so normally at this time of the day.”

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1498143

 

[MenInG]

KOLKATA: Day-night matches have helped rejuvenate the game's longest format but Test cricket should not be bound by the laTest trends and must instead focus on the battle of wills between batsman and bowler, India captain Virat Kohli said on Thursday.
India have been the only major full-member nation not to have played a day-night Test, a concept which pundits say will help address dwindling attendance in most Test venues.

Kohli's men will finally take the pink-ball plunge on Friday at Kolkata's Eden Gardens against a Bangladesh team who will also be playing their maiden day-night Test.

Kohli is all for innovation but dreads the idea of twisting Test cricket to pander to popular tastes.

"In my opinion, this should not become the only way Test cricket is played," the 31-year-old told reporters ahead of the second and final Test against Bangladesh.

"Because then you are losing out on that nervousness of the first session in the morning.

"You can bring excitement into Test cricket but you can't purely make Test cricket based on just entertainment.

"Entertainment of Test cricket lies in the fact that a batsman is trying to survive a session and the bowler is trying to set a batsman out. If people don't respond to that, too bad."

Not every fan will appreciate the nuances of the longest format and it would be futile to try to convert them, he said.

"If someone gets excitement from watching the battle between bat and ball and a great session of Test cricket, in my opinion those are the people that should come and watch Test cricket because they understand what’s going on."

"I think (day-night Tests) can be a one-off thing, it should not be a regular scenario."

The visibility of the pink ball and its exaggerated swing might make batsmen particularly vulnerable in the channel outside the off-stump, Kohli said.

"Your idea of off-stump, that’s going to be the most crucial thing," he added. "When we practised yesterday, we felt that the ball could be closer to you but it’s actually not that close to the off-stump. One has to be careful in that channel."

The biggest challenge however would be for the fielders, said Kohli.

"In the slip, the ball hit your hand so hard, it almost felt like a heavy hockey ball ...

"It's definitely much more harder and, for some reason, it felt a little heavier. Even the throws took a lot more effort to reach the keeper."
Kohli would not be surprised if fielders drop an odd skier in the match either.

"During the day, high catches would be very difficult," he said.

"With red ball and white ball, you catch with an idea of knowing how fast the ball is coming down. But this time, if you don’t look at the ball in your palm, it’s gone."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...the-rule-virat-kohli/articleshow/72162024.cms

 

[Abdullah719]

Ganguly wants pink-ball Tests in every India series

Spoiler

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly believes pink-ball Tests are here to stay and wants the team under Virat Kohli to play at least one such match in every series.

India became the last major cricket nation to embrace day-night Tests when they hosted neighbours Bangla*desh in front of a sellout crowd at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens last month.

As the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Ganguly’s nudge prompted India to take the plunge into day-night Tests, which pundits believe can address Test cricket’s dwindling attendance in most venues.

“I am pretty upbeat about it,” Ganguly told The Week magazine. “I feel this is the way forward. Not every Test, but at least one Test in a series.”

The world’s richest cricket board aggressively marketed India’s maiden pink-ball Test, illuminating prominent city landmarks in pink and overall creating a buzz around the match.

Encouraged by the turnout in Kolkata, other Indian venues are now ready to host day-night Tests, Ganguly said. “I will share my experiences with the board and we will try and implement it in other places.”

“After this, everyone is ready. Nobody wants to play Test cricket in front of 5,000 people,” added the former India captain.

Kohli has welcomed the innovation but said pink-ball Tests should be an exception and not the rule.

“I think [day-night Tests] can be a one-off thing, it should not be a regular scenario,” Kohli said in Kolkata on the eve of the Test match.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1520256