“Early sunset here will make it unique”
KOLKATA: Spinners have taken 96 of the 256 wickets in 11 pink ball Tests, 46 of which have come in two games in Dubai. So if they make an impact at Eden Gardens, it could be before the lights are at their brightest, said Daniel Vettori, Bangladesh’s spin bowling coach. “The first two sessions, spinners could really be important. They (Bangladesh spinners) have enjoyed bowling with the SG pink ball. Both teams played two spinners in the last game (in Indore) and I don’t think they will go too far away from that,” said Vettori after Bangladesh’s nets here on Wednesday morning.
In a career spanning 113 Tests and 362 wickets, the former leftarm spinner took 31 wickets in eight Tests in India. But Vettori said that looking back at his time in India as a New Zealand bowler and one who played five seasons of the Indian Premier League gives him nightmares.
The role of an overseas slow bowler would be different from how they operate back home, he said. “It is difficult being an overseas spinner coming here (to India). That is mainly because of the quality of the (Indian) batsmen. We saw the pressure that Mayank (Agarwal) put our spinners under. And (Ajinkya) Rahane. So it’s a tricky challenge. The wicket was as good as it was in Indore which meant there wasn’t a lot to work with. It is probably going to be the same here as well.
“I don’t think it is a case of overseas spinners coming here and looking to dominate, do your role as you would back home. It is more about the economy rate, playing a holding role, taking 2/60 or 2/70 in the first innings and trying to see what the second innings presents,” said Vettori.
That role could be more important if Bangladesh play an extra seamer, a possibility t hat couldn’t be ruled out with leftarm pacer Mustafizur Rahman having a long session on Wednesday. Rahman was left out of the
Indore Test which was played on a wicket that helped pace bowlers throughout the three days it lasted. “The relaid wicket here has more bounce. It was watered today and is now covered. So they don’t want to dry it out. The seamers, because of the pink ball and under lights, will play a big part. Our fast bowlers are excited and that doesn’t happen too often,” said Vettori who was seen giving throwdowns to Liton Das to give the Bangladesh batsman practice against what Ravindra Jadeja could offer. “Watching Jadeja over the years and seeing him first hand, I am trying to help the guys deal with him, his variations. The pace that Jadeja bowls is what the batsmen have to really get used to,” said Vettori.
The full house—after feeling the wicket, Indian board president Sourav Ganguly said he hasn’t seen such excitement ahead of a Test in some time— and playing under lights could give this Test a T20 or a one-day atmosphere, said Vettori. “(Virat) Kohli or Rohit walking out to bat will feel like a T20. And if those guys get going, there will be an atmosphere that probably no player has experienced in Test match conditions”
Another element to look forward to is the amount of cricket that will be played under lights here because of early sunset. “In previous pink ball Tests, there is an hour, an hour-and-a-half under lights. But here the sun sets quite early; around 4 or 4:30. I think that will be the time we will see the pink ball come into play.
“I think that’s going to be the exciting period of the Test match. That will be the period where tactically teams might try out a few different things,” said Vettori who said his only experience of Tests under lights has been on television.