Pink ball clears the Indian test; makes successful debut at Eden Gardens

It was a happy day for one and all. The batsmen scored runs, while the bowlers had a decent time too with the pitch offering something for both seamers and spinners. And last but not the least, the crowd enjoyed the spectacle as well.

Ever since Australia and New Zealand played the first Day-Night Test with a pink ball in November last year, there was quite a buzz around its future sustainability. Even as the players who were a part of that match and former cricketers gave thumbs up to Day-Night Tests and the pink ball experiment, there was apprehension as to how and when will other cricket boards going to adopt it. ALSO READ: India to play their first-ever day-night Test against New Zealand this year, says Anurag Thakur.

But earlier this year, the BCCI made clear that India will host its first pink ball Test later in the year and the Duleep Trophy matches at the beginning of the home season will be played under the lights to test the feasibility. But as it happened, Sourav Ganguly, who himself was very upbeat about the idea of Day-Night Test, worked overtime to ensure that the pink ball made its India debut much before that. ALSO READ: Watch Sourav Ganguly speak on India’s first-ever pink ball match at Eden Gardens.

On Saturday, four-day CAB Super League final between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore started at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata and it marked the pink ball’s India debut. In his capacity as the CAB chief and a top whip at BCCI, Ganguly indeed worked hard to make it possible. On Day 1 of the match, Mohun Bagan were 276 for 8 in 85.2 overs at stumps. And going by the statistics, it appears that thing went absolutely normal and the experiment was successful in India too.

Even beyond the statistics, the pink ball cleared the Indian test. Some cricketers who were a part of the game spoke to PTI about their experience of playing under the lights with a pink ball. “The ball was coming nicely on to the bat. Visibility was not a problem at all, it’s a bit glossy, the ball is skidding and seaming a bit,” said Anustup Majumdar, who was representing Mohun Bagan.

Even the officials were happy with the way things went on the first day. The umpires hailed the ball as it retained its texture even at the dinner interval. “I didn’t expect it to be so firm, I’m really surprised. The ball was perfectly visible. And you can feel the seam which is still intact,” one of the umpires, Premdip Chatterjee said. All-in-all, it was a happy day for one and all. The batsmen scored runs, while the bowlers had a decent time too with the pitch offering something for both seamers and spinners. And last but not the least, the crowd enjoyed the spectacle as well.