Before the history-making, day-night Test match between India and Bangladesh will look to set the standard for similar future matches.
With the first-ever Day-Night Pink Ball Test Match between India and Bangladesh just around the corner, the buzz about and surrounding the match continues to peak. The Cricket Association of Bengal and the BCCI have left no stone unturned in making the feat a grand affair.
It will be a first for India who will play a Test match under artificial lights while using a pink ball. This also shows that India has embraced the ever-changing style of the game. In the past, India refused to participate in any and all Day-Night Test matches. Just last year, the team turned down an offer of playing under floodlights during India’s 2018 tour of Australia citing the lack of practice.
Regardless, when he was asked about his stand if Australia invites them to play a Day-Night Test, he said that he was open to the idea but emphasized that there should be practice before the actual match. ‘Whenever it is held, there should be a practice game before’, said Kohli.
He was also asked why they refused to play in a similar match in Adelaide last year. The skipper cited the lack of practice with the Pink Ball. ‘It can’t be that sudden. You can’t just go in two days before and say you’re playing a pink-ball Test in a week’s time. We didn’t really think it was logical from that point of view. It needed a bit of preparation. Once you get used to playing it there’s no problem playing at all. You can plan in advance. We just thought it was spontaneous’.
‘Obviously, we wanted to get a feel of pink ball cricket. Eventually, it had to happen. But you can’t just bring those things up before a big tour and suddenly in the schedule, there is a pink ball Test, when we have not even practiced with pink ball. We have not played any first-class game with the pink ball’, he continued.
India has -5000 in the betting odds while Bangladesh has 1600 for their second Test. The Men in Blue will then play against the West Indies for three T20Is. To find out more about India’s upcoming matches, visit Betwala’s page.
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