Fortunes could swing in a matter of hours
1 DAY TO GO As Eden gears up for the D/N Test, domestic players talk about their pink ball experience
MUMBAI: It will be a journey into uncharted territory for both India and Bangladesh in the pink-ball Test starting on Friday. How the SG pink ball will behave at various stages of the game on its debut is a mystery that will unfold at Eden Gardens from Friday. It is the first daynight Test in India. At best, the players’ preparations are based on the results and patterns of play in day-night Tests around the world.
In fact, for the first time an international match is being played with a ball that has not been properly tested in a game at any level.
Bangladesh won’t mind this. They are in a nothing-to-lose situation. In normal circumstances, they would have stood little chance against the might of Virat Kohli’s side, on a roll after 11 home series wins on the trot.
Now, the visitors go in with an outside chance, hoping that an inspired effort from one individual can tilt the scales in their favour.
To ensure the pink ball does not get scuffed up early, pitches for day-night games have extra g r a s s . The b o wl e r is also expected to get extra movement under the lights with the breeze blowing from the Hooghly. Any pacer will be a handful, leave alone the ones with good skills. In favourable conditions, it’s about pitching the ball in the right area and conditions will make it dance. In other words, the game could well end up as a lottery; fortunes may depend heavily on which part of the day you bat or bowl.
It will be an entirely different experience bowling with an old ball in sunlight, running in with a new ball in twilight and then bowling in the night with the turf, and the ball, soaked in the dew. A couple of good hours of play could prove crucial.
GURBANI SPECIAL
In such a scenario, one stand-out bowling performance can be decisive. One such effort during experiments with the pink ball (Kookaburra) came in the 2018 Duleep Trophy, when Vidarbha pacer Rajneesh Gurbani triggered India Green’s batting collapse, from 282/5 to 309 all out, with his brilliant nine-over spell giving
India Red a 28-run lead. He captured 7/81, the best figures with pink ball i n domestic cricket.
“The new ball swings a lot. Initially for five to 10 overs there was swing on offer and I picked up wickets. Then again during sunset time I got help (movement) and picked up wickets,” says Gurbani, Man-of-the-match for Vidarbha in the quarter-final, semi-final and final during their victorious 2017-18 season.
Though there have been highscoring games, the pressure is usually more on the batsmen. Tamil Nadu’s Baba Indrajith, the second Indian batsman to get a double hundred in a pink-ball match (Duleep Trophy, Sept 2017)—Cheteswar Pujara was the first—said: “Initially, when the ball is new, the ball swings more. But once it gets slightly older, it doesn’t swing as much as the red ball. Again during the evening when the breeze sets in, the ball starts to swing.”
Indrajith got another hundred in a pink-ball game, but both came against the Kookaburra.
The SG ball is expected to afford more movement because it has a more pronounced seam. It will test the batsmen’s technique against swing bowling.
STAYING SIDE-ON
Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar, one of India’s most accomplished batsmen against the moving ball who hit three hundreds at Lord’s, advises: “It’s about staying side-on and not playing across the line. The batsmen shouldn’t look to play big shots, just look to drive and push when the ball is swinging. The shoulder shouldn’t open.”
India and Bangladesh batsmen who have faced the ball so far in the nets have said the ball zips on pitching. That will test the batsmen’s footwork. Vengsarkar, who has been invited to watch the Eden Test and will be there for the first two days, said the batsman will have to be “extra alert” to deal with the extra pace.
Unlike the day game where once the batsman gets his eye in, it is smooth sailing, to play a long innings in a day-nighter, one must be prepared for phases of play where they will be challenged more. Indrajith said: “The second new ball I faced was a bit challenging. Because of the gloss and sheen on the ball, under the lights it swings more than the red ball. Apart from that, during the evening even when the ball is not new, because of the conditions it might swing a bit,” he said.
TIMING VITAL
It will be about the timing of the day as teams will also have to bowl under the sun, with play scheduled to start at 1 pm. If in that phase the bowler is using an old ball, then he will be under pressure. Indrajith, who averages 50 plus in first-class cricket, said against the older ball, it gets easy. “Once it gets older, it is more like the white ball and doesn’t swing much. It is really hard and comes on to the bat very well. I didn’t curb any of my strokes.”
The impact of spinners will depend a lot on which part of the day they are bowling. Gripping the ball will be a challenge when the ball gets soaked in the dew, but spinners could be potent in the twilight phase as a black seam on pink ball with a black sightscreen will make picking the seam a struggle for batsmen.
“It’s about the basics. Not too many things are different but when you are playing wrist spinners it’s important you watch the ball closely because it is not easy to pick the seam and revolutions with the pink ball under lights. It was not very easy for me. I had to watch the hand even more closely.”
Indrajith got a double hundred in that 2017 game, on his Duleep Trophy debut, but it was not as easy game for batsmen. He saw his India Red collapse to 159/7 against India Blue before launching a counter-attack to score a 280-ball 200. He shared a 178-run stand for the last wicket with Mumbai spinner Vijay Gohil, taking his team to 383.
WET BALL
As seen in IPL and day-night oneday games, on nights when there is heavy dew, most teams, especially those with spin-heavy attacks, prefer to bowl first so that their bowlers have the advantage of using a dry ball, for better grip.
“It’s about using the mud and towel well to keep the ball as dry as possible. Once a boundary is hit, the ball gets really wet. In our preparation, we practice a lot with the wet ball,” says former India leg-spinner Karn Sharma, the highest wicket-taker in the 2017 Duleep Trophy.
“Wrist spinners are more effective because the seam shrinks after 35-40 overs and you can’t watch the seam clearly. But the SG ball seam is more upright compared to the Kookaburra. It will be a good Test match,” says Sharma.
Spin ace Harbhajan Singh, in an i nterview to PTI, has explained that with extra lacquer, the pink ball’s surface won’t get as wet as the white ball, but the stitches will be very soggy, making it tough for finger spinners. With R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja both being finger spinners, it is a cause for worry for the hosts.
For the pacers, Gurbani says, bowling with the wet ball will require a change in strategy as well. “When there is dew, the bowler won’t get help. You need to show creativity, bowl to a plan, bring out your variations, use change of pace, cutters, bouncers, change the angles, switch to over and around the wicket—that’s what I did during that spell.”
When the ball (a shiny pink one that is) is set rolling at the Eden Gardens on Friday afternoon in the second India-bangladesh Test, it will be a new sight on Indian soil. Once averse to playing day/night Tests, the changed stance has been stark as the current BCCI administration has gone into an overdrive to commemorate the occasion.
While Kookaburra is machine stitched, SG balls are hand stitched. Kookaburra has a less prominent seam that gives away after 15-20 overs. The SG ball has a prominent seam that lasts long (pink ball will have black seam compared to the white seam of a red ball). However, a SG red ball loses its shine faster than a Australia-manufactured Kookaburra ball. In case of the pink ball, however, it will be given a coating of a pigment to ensure it retains shine longer.
How is the pink ball different from the red
The main difference between the red ball and the pink variant is the way the leather is processed. The red ball has dyed leather, on which some processes are done for shining the ball. In the pink one, the colour is because of a pigment with which the leather is coated. In the ‘traditional’ ball, the red colour is absorbed by the leather, whereas the pink ball has a paint like the ones on a car. It’s like a pigmented coat on top of the leather.
How will it affect the game
In the red one, one can ‘prepare’ the ball over a period of 20-25-30 overs—start shining one side and leave the other side rough, so the bowlers are able to get that reverse swing later in the innings. In the pink ball, because of the extra coat of pigment and lacquer it will swing initially when the ball is new. But later on getting reverse swing will depend on the roughness of the ground.
How long can the shine last The technology that was there probably two to three years ago, the shine was not lasting a lot but now it shall last pretty much the entire distance for about 80 overs.
What about bounce
The latest version of SG ball has a pronounced seam. It was used in the series against South Africa and had a greater bounce. The pacers made merry. The same pronounced seam will be there in the pink ball that will be used in the Kolkata Test. So bounce will be there.
Before India and Bangladesh, 10 teams have already had their tryst with the pink ball. Yet, the late entry of the two teams will have some firsts. While Kookaburra and Dukes balls have been used so far in the day/night affairs, including the 2016-17 Duleep Trophy where the former was tried, this will be the first time that pink SG balls will be
Sourav Ganguly inspects the Eden Gardens pitch.
What about used balls in case the original ball gets damaged?
That will be done by the BCCI. They will create the library. That process has already started. The organisers have been given around 70 odd balls.
Where have SG balls been used before?
It has been used in Division 1 games, club games. We have tested the pink balls rigorously in difficult conditions where the pitches were really hard and the ground was really rough. Everybody is asking what will happen if it is used in Test match. What I am saying is that in a club level match the conditions are far tougher for a ball than in Test match. The wicket will be better and the ground will be lush green. And in a Test match the ball is looked after by the players, they try to maintain the shine of the ball. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed but we are positive that it will play out well. used in a Test.
Apart from Virat Kohli’s men in whites strutting on a floodlit Eden Gardens, the behaviour of the pink ball will be equally interesting. Hindustan Times caught up with Paras Anand, director of SG (producers of the pink balls) to get a better idea. Here’s an explainer on the nuances of the pink ball.
The
Hong Kong World Sixes uses orange Dukes balls. In 1990s, orange and yellow balls were used for D/N Sheffield Shield matches.
Will it behave similarly on Indian surfaces as it did in Australia or England?
From whatever little communication we have had, we understand that they are going to prepare a pitch where there will be support for the ball. And we saw that in the South Africa series. We saw the last time South Africa visited India (2015-16), the ball was turning after the first session. Now pitches have improved. We are positive that the pitches will support the pink ball.
Will hardness be an issue?
Yes we have worked on it. We have made some changes in the product. The pink ball which will be used in Kolkata will be latest version.
Pink balls have shown the tendency to help the bowlers in the twilight period?
The reason for that is very similar to what happens when there is an overcast condition. Overcast condition affects the game. The ball swings more than they normally do.
Will it pose extra challenge for first-time users?
The pink balls were provided to the Indian and the Bangladesh teams before the first Test in Indore. The teams have had some practice under floodlights after that game ended in three days.
-ABHISHEK PAUL