Kolkata, Nov 21, TEN Network | Ahead of the historic pink ball Test match, Indian captain Virat Kohli has expressed his excitement over being part of such a historic occasion, but at the same time also spoke about the different challenges at hand. “This pink ball Test match is a challenge for us. It is very exciting for us as the energy will be very high. It is a landmark occasion,” the skipper said on the eve of the second Test match.
As per Kohli, fielding will be the biggest challenge as players will take time to adjust to the colour as well as the different characteristics of the ball.
“The fielding session with the pink ball was biggest challenge. People will be surprised how difficult fielding can be with the pink ball. The ball definitely felt heavier. I’m sure there won’t be any difference in weight but somehow it felt heavier. While taking slip catches the ball really hit the hands hard. Even while throwing from the boundary, the fielders felt they needed to put extra effort,” the captain further added.
Earlier, the different batsmen have also spoken about the changes they needed to make in their batting techniques as the pink ball moves around a lot more as compared to the red ball. “Definitely it is a different ball game when we play with the pink ball. Our focus during the practice session was to see the seam and swing and also looking to play close to the body. What we found about after the practice session was that the pink ball does a lot compared to the red ball and hence, one had to play slightly late and close to the body,” vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said in Indore.
There is tremendous buzz around this match and Kohli equated the atmosphere to the India vs Pakistan clash at the World T20 at the same venue back in 2016.
“It’s really exciting for all of us. The last time we experience this kind of an atmosphere was before an India Pakistan T20 World Cup game. Then also a lot of formers cricketers came, they were felicitated. It will be same,” the skipper said. (HT)
